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‘Shark Season’ feels like it was months ago with October on our doorstep and a chill in the air throughout much of America but it’s still hot AF down in The Florida Keys and really all across Florida. In fact, I was looking at the ‘time machine’ function on the DarkSky weather app for iPhone last week to see when it actually cooled down for the first time last year in Florida and it wasn’t until the third week of November that the high dipped below the 80s in my hometown.
What I’m getting at here is it’s not at all strange that this family was snorkeling down in the Florida Keys even if you’re reading this from Colorado where it’s already snowed this season. What is out of the ordinary is a large shark attacked an adult male out of nowhere even after others had been swimming in the water.
They suspect it was a bull shark, the species of shark responsible for more violent shark attacks than any other. Bull Sharks can also pretty much live in freshwater indefinitely and one was even caught up the river all the way in St. Louis so they’re basically super predators. Anyway, the pregnant wife sprung into action and saved her husband even as blood filled the water. This is all according to a report from the Miami Herald.
A shark attacked a snorkeler Sunday in the Florida Keys, and the man’s pregnant wife jumped off a boat to pull her husband to safety, witnesses said.
Several other people were already in the water on Sombrero Reef, a popular snorkeling spot that surrounds a lighthouse in the Middle Keys, before Andrew Eddy donned his goggles and flippers and slid off the back of the boat around 10:30 a.m.
But, as soon as he hit the water, a large shark, which witnesses say was likely a bull shark, slammed into him and latched onto his shoulder.
“Dukes saw the shark’s dorsal fin and then blood filling the water. Dukes, without hesitation, dove into the water and pulled Eddy to the safety of the boat,” Deputy Christopher Aguanno wrote in his report.
My rule of thumb is if the water’s dark enough to the point that I can’t see what’s swimming around AND there are small fish in the area then I’ll just find another time to go swimming. I’m not living my life in fear of sharks at all. The chances of being attacked by a shark are infinitesimally small. But I’m not going to put myself in harm’s way if it’s a possible feeding situation for a shark and I can’t even see the shark because the water’s so murky.
I REALLY hope that wife lords this rescue over her son forever. ‘Remember that time I was carrying our child and had to rescue your bumass from a shark??!?! I think you can get off the couch and mow the lawn.’ This is a never-expiring trump card that she can play anytime her husband steps out of line. She quite possibly saved his life and she did it while pregnant.
The husband was driven to a nearby beach where paramedics were waiting. He was then flown to a trauma center in Miami. Prior to the attack, several boats were in the area with snorkelers and one of them reported spotting an 8 to 9 foot Bull Shark so that’s presumably the culprit in this attack.
Despite the Florida Keys being home to literally countless sharks there have only been 17 unprovoked shark attacks since 1882, according to the Miami Herald. So this is an extremely rare occurrence. And seriously, if you’ve never been to The Keys there are sharks everywhere. I think last time I went fishing down there we counted over 20 small ones swimming around throughout the day.
To read more on this story and about which groups are most at-risk for coming in contact with sharks in The Florida Keys you can read the article in full over on the Miami Herald.