Woman Gets Her Hands Bitten Off By Shark After Attempting To “Engage” With The Animal For A Photo

A tourist was enjoying her vacation at the Turks and Caicos Islands when she was attacked by a shark off a Caribbean beach. 

The unidentified woman, who is believed to be from Canada, allegedly lost both of her hands and sustained an injury to her thigh off Thompson’s Cove Beach in central Providenciales at approximately 10:30am on Friday, February 7.

According to reports, the 55-year-old was lingering around the shallow part of the ocean when she spotted the shark and “attempted to engage” with it in order to capture a photo. But the animal soon struck, and her husband was there to try and fight it off her.

A woman was attacked by a shark during her vacation at Turks and Caicos Islands

Shark swimming with fish in clear blue water, highlighting marine life interaction.

Image credits: Ishan @seefromthesky/Unsplash (Not the actual photo)

And while the species of shark has still not been released to the public, the local government said it appeared to be around six feet in length, while reports online suggest it was a bull shark — known to be one of the most aggressive and dangerous shark species.

Photos have been released of the injured woman lying on the sand after she eventually made it back to the beach, as a crowd gathered around her, putting cloths all over her arms to lessen the bleeding, as reported by Daily Mail.

Footage taken by another tourist at a beachside villa also showed a shark moving around in the nearby shallow waters.

Calm ocean water scene with a distant view of the sea and green foliage in the foreground.

Image credits: mirror

“I was there for 40 minutes and it was still lingering,” said one of the witnesses to a local news site. 

Royal Turks and Caicos Police said medical personnel and cops were dispatched to the scene, and the victim was subsequently rushed to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre for treatment.

The woman reportedly had one of her hands amputated at the wrist and the other mid-way down her forearm. She is now said to be back in Canada, receiving medical care.

Following the harrowing incident, police and environmental officials have advised the public to remain out of the ocean until they give the all-clear. 

Netizens flooded the comments with claims that the woman shouldn’t have been there in the first place, much less taking photos of the wild creature.

She allegedly lost both of her hands and was bitten in her upper thigh

People tending to a woman on a beach after a shark attack incident involving shark engagement for a photo.

Image credits: mirror

Beach scene with people assisting a woman injured by shark.

Image credits: mirror

“Ya cant blame the sharks if you go in the sea its their territory,” someone stated. 

“Well, if she wasn’t trying to take a selfie and her husband wasn’t trying to stone cold stun the shark when it bitten her, maybe it wouldn’t have happened,” another theorized.

A third simply said, “That’s her own fault.” 

Her husband additionally tried to fight off the shark when it looped back to attack the woman another time

Aerial view of a pristine beach with turquoise water meeting sandy shoreline.

Image credits: Romello Williams / Unsplash (Not the actual photo)

According to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File (ISAF), shark attacks in the waters of the Turks and Caicos Islands are relatively rare — only one unprovoked attack was reported last year, and it turned out to be non-fatal.

As a whole, however, the odds of being attacked by a shark are 1 in 11.5 million simply because most of these animals have no desire to harm a human unless someone falls into one of three unfortunate circumstances.

If a person provoked a shark, such as touching, attacking, netting, or hooking, they may be more likely to defend themselves. Other instances include confusion when a shark mistakes a human for their prey. These will most likely result in a singular bite before it swims away.

Shark swimming near shore in clear water, dorsal fin visible.

Image credits: Peter Neumann / Unsplash (Not the actual photo)

Curiosity may also factor in — if a shark wants to investigate an unfamiliar object, such as a person splashing in the water — a behavior that often mimics their food sources. 

As a whole, great white sharks, tiger sharks, and bull sharks are known to be the most aggressive and are the most likely to attack humans. This, however, does not mean that they will bite someone without reason.

Users online said her behavior while trying to take the photo was to blame

Commentary on attempting to take a selfie with a shark, implying risky engagement.

Comment discussing a shark interaction, questioning why the shark is labeled a beast.

A comment criticizing a woman's actions after a shark incident.

Comment about the dangers of engaging with a shark for a photo.

Comment discussing shark territory and human interaction.

Comment by Wayne Hamilton: "Well that's not intelligent.

Comment questioning human behavior in response to woman bitten by shark.

Screenshot of a comment by Kara Ng saying, "What has happened to the world," related to a shark incident.

Text comment expressing that a shark is not like a pet goldfish.

Comment by Karen Brin saying, "That's very stupid unfortunately," in response to a shark photo incident.

Comment reaction to woman interacting with shark.

Comment questioning if a woman tried to feed a shark for a photo.

Comment stating 'This shark should have been destroyed' about a shark incident.

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