Terrifying moment shark bites woman captured in wild video
This shark was hungry for the spotlight.
Lilian Tagliari, a travel influencer known as @lilian.has.travelbug on social media, revealed the horrifying moment a shark bit her during her ocean exploration in the Maldives in a recent video with more than 18 million views on Instagram alone.
Lilian Tagliari became shark bait during her recent diving trip. Compass Media/Lilian Tagliari
The travel influencer believes the shark mistook her for a fish. Compass Media/Lilian Tagliari
“As I came back up, this shark decided to take a nibble. I thought, ‘just my luck’ because it happens so rarely,” the influencer said.
Even underwater, Tagliari can be heard screaming in terror in the clip.
The Brazilian native, who currently resides in Australia, was swimming among 50 nurse sharks when one of them sunk its teeth into her right leg.
“We had [swam] with them for a good hour, then I decided to go back to our boat. Then the [water] conditions got better and I thought ‘Oh, a few more dives won’t hurt,’” Tagliari shared.
Unfortunately for her, it did hurt.
Though her skin was pierced open with blood oozing out, Tagliari still had sympathy for the shark’s behavior.
Tagliari was forced to take antibiotics and left with scars on both sides of her legs. Compass Media/Lilian Tagliari
“The boats do throw fish where they are, and because nurse sharks have very bad eyesight, that one just thought my leg was a piece of fish,” she explained.
Tagliari uploaded snippets of her injuries showing the bite marks on both sides of her leg.
“I did have to take antibiotics in case of any bacterial infection,” she said. “I got a sore leg for a few days.”
Tagliari’s viewers were notably gobsmacked as conveyed by their comments, yet the brave swimmer remains unbothered, referring to the experience as just a “little accident.”
Nurse sharks feed on small fish and marine invertebrates, and rarely attack humans. Compass Media/Lilian Tagliari
“It was just a weird little accident that left me some cute scars… tawny (nurse sharks) very rarely bite humans, and the bite is more like a suction…so no limbs missing, just another story to tell,” she wrote on her Instagram post.
Nurse sharks are an inshore bottom-dwelling species native to the tropical and subtropical coasts of the Eastern Atlantic, Western Atlantic and Eastern Pacific. They typically feed on small fish and marine invertebrates but are also known to be opportunistic predators — which may explain why Tagliari’s leg looked like one nurse shark’s meal ticket.
“Yes, I go swimming in the middle of sharks. Yes, I like to take photos with sharks. Yes, I know I’m in their home,” she preemptively rebuffed in the caption of her viral video. “So, I am not complaining.”
The influencer has taken frequent diving trips to the Maldives, which is known for its sharks, including scalloped hammerheads, tiger sharks, whale sharks and grey reef sharks.
“Sharks in the Maldives are generally harmless and pose no threat to humans,” explained the Nova Maldives resort site. “These magnificent creatures are more interested in their natural prey than in interacting with humans.”
