Footage captures moment shark hones in, attacks Kiwi diving in Fiji
A New Zealand diver has shared dramatic footage of the moment he was bitten by a shark in Fiji, saying he ignored warning signs before the attack.
Ocean enthusiast and social media influencer Henry Gibbs posted the video to his Instagram account yesterday, sharing details of what happened.
In the footage, Gibbs is dressed in a bright red wetsuit, kicking through the water with his speargun in front of him.
The grey shark, which appears a little over a metre long, circles below in the distance, its grey skin blending into the seafloor.
Gibbs said he and other divers had already seen several grey reef sharks in the water. But the one in the video remained closer than the others, becoming “increasingly agitated” and making tight semicircles beneath them.
“Looking back, that should’ve been enough of a sign to call the dive. I never thought a shark of that size posed much of a threat, and that was a mistake,” wrote Gibbs.
The shark can be seen turning and darting at speed towards Gibbs. He screams under the water, but within three seconds the predator closes in.
The shark ducks beneath the speargun and latches onto Gibbs’ calf, shaking its head while its teeth pull the muscle from his leg.
“I knew it was coming for me, which is why you can hear me starting to make a fuss before it even gets to me,” he posted.
It was still unclear what made the shark attack, but Gibbs said he has learned lessons from the experience.
“It’s possible the commotion from the boat, the sounds of our spearguns, and the activity in the water gradually made this shark more interested or excited.”
Two of Gibbs’ main takeaways were to end the dive and move on if a shark’s behaviour starts to change and to stick to plain black wetsuits in the tropics.
“Most of my experience with sharks has been in New Zealand, where they’re generally much less aggressive. I made the mistake of expecting this shark to behave the same way.”
After the attack, Gibbs was flown to New Zealand and has been recovering in hospital after four surgeries and a skin graft.
Gibbs said he was still deciding whether or not to share the rest of the footage “as it becomes very graphic”.
“Feeling incredibly lucky to still have my leg, full use of my foot and to be on the mend,” he wrote on social media.
“A huge thank you to everyone who’s reached out, and to all the doctors, nurses and hospital staff, family and friends who’ve looked after me.”
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