Dave Marcel, a diving guide around Key Largo, Florida, attempted to kiss a “harmless” nurse shark in front of dozens of tourists, only to have it bite him instead.
Marcel has been taking visitors out to Elbow Reef in Florida for years, and actually encouraged people to interact with the wildlife, which included a 300-pound nurse shark, as they’re not aggressive and love to be petted.
Marcel would look to prove this by kissing the sharks himself, and then allowing tourists to follow suit.
However, one day, in 2011, a shark decided to bite back, and to make matters worse for Marvel it was all caught on camera by the Discovery Channel , who have now broadcast the footage as part of Shark Week.
Marcel has revealed that he made one crucial mistake on the day he was bitten though, he decided to flip the shark upside down before kissing it. Something he had never done before.
The diver hadn’t realised that the nautical beast’s eyes are on top its head, so it didn’t see him, and assumed that it was being fed fish.
In return, Marcel believed that he was about to have a gentle kiss on his lips, but instead it bit down on his face with all 500 of its teeth. However, Marcel survived because once the shark realised that he was eating human flesh, instead of fish, it got bored and swam away.
Marcel told the Discovery Channel as part of its coverage, “He spit me out. I guess he said I didn’t taste good.”
Although Marcel didn’t experience life threatening injuries or receive any face trauma, he still required 285 stitches on his lips.
He returned to the water just three days later, with Marcel adding, “You can not be a wild animal handler without having the expectation that you will be bitten. It’s a part of the job.”