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A man standing inside a fishing boat was recorded on video as he was bitten by a shark and pulled into the water inside Florida’s Everglades National Park. The man was reportedly rinsing his hands in the water off the edge of the boat when the attack occurred.

Video of the incident is shocking.

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Before the incident, someone onboard warns, “I wouldn’t put your hands in there.” Then, without much more than a moment’s notice, the shark bites, pulling the man into the murky water. You can hear someone on the boat saying, “Get him, get him, get him,” as the man is pulled back onboard.

The National Park Service confirmed that a visitor was bitten in the park’s Florida Bay on the morning of June 23.

Alysson Gantt, a spokesperson for Everglades and Dry Tortugas national parks, told weather.com that the man was treated by a park EMT for injuries consistent with a shark bite.

“Park rangers transferred him to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue for further treatment and transport to the hospital,” Gantt said in a statement.

How Common Are Shark Bites?

Truthfully, shark bites are relatively rare.

I​n 2021, The Florida Museum reported just 28 bites for the whole year statewide. The year before? Only 16. Based on statistics for the U.S. as a whole, one's odds of being attacked by a shark are about 1 in 11.5 million.

Despite the relative rarity of shark bites, this incident is an important reminder of the possibility.

A NOAA Fisheries report points out that sharks existed millions of years before humans and don’t eat humans as a primary part of their diet.

“Sharks have been known to attack humans when they are confused or curious. If a shark sees a human splashing in the water, it may try to investigate, leading to an accidental attack,” NOAA says.

Florida National Park Service officials remind water users to always be careful. “While shark bites are extremely uncommon in Everglades National Park, we always recommend visitors take caution around park wildlife,” Gantt said.

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