Doctor Fights Off Shark, Stitches Own Wounds, Then Grabs a Beer in New Zealand
24-Year-Old Junior Doctor Stabbed Shark With Small Knife
A doctor fought off a shark in New Zealand recently, stitched himself up and lived to tell the tale. Dr. James Grant, 24, was out spearfishing in Colac Bay on the South Island when he was attacked, but quick thinking and a small knife helped save his life.
The doctor who fought off the shark didn't realize the creature was a dangerous animal at first- he thought it was a friend playing a prank when he felt the pull on his leg. Once he discovered what was pulling him in the six feet of water, he knew he had to do something fast.
"I looked behind to see who it was and got a bit of a shock," the junior doctor told Radio New Zealand. "[I thought] bugger, now I have to try and get this thing off my leg."
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Fortunately, he happened to have a knife in his hand and stabbed the shark several times. Though he didn't see the entire creature, he estimated that it was a sevengill shark with a jaw about eight inches across, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
"I am not sure how effective (the knife) was. I guess it let go so something must have happened. [I] put a few nicks in it," he explained.
Dr. Grant made it to shore, peeled off his wetsuit and saw cuts on his legs that needed medical attention. He called for his friends, but they thought he was joking, so he had no choice but to stitch himself up using an emergency first aid kit they brought along.
Afterwards the group headed to Colac Bay Tavern, where the doctor's friends discovered that he wasn't kidding about the sevengill bite- the 24-year-old was bleeding through the stitches onto the pub floor. The staff there gave him a bandage and Dr. Grant was patched up by his colleagues at Invercargill hospital Monday.
"I'm pretty grateful to have my leg still," he told Stuff.co.nz. "When the stitches come out, I will be back in the water.
