The 23-year-old woman was swimming in the ocean when a 2-foot-long baby “nurse” shark sunk its teeth into her arm, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Officials with Boca Raton Ocean Rescue told the Sun-Sentinel the woman was transported to the hospital when they were unable to remove the shark, even after it died.
Nurse sharks normally dwell on the bottom of the ocean and are generally not harmful to humans, although they will bite defensively, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History. Beachgoers near the incident told the Sun-Sentinel swimmers had been antagonizing the shark prior to the attack.
The woman was in stable condition with the shark detached from her arm shortly after arriving at the hospital, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
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