One fisherman had a hair-raising experience while washing his hands after making a catch in the Florida Everglades.
The saltwater everglades in Florida are home to all manner of dangerous creatures lurking beneath the surface, as this unfortunate angler discovered
In a video uploaded by fishing guide Capt. Mark Gore, the man - named Nick - was seen rinsing off his hands over the side of the boat when a shark suddenly lunged up and seized him by the hand, causing him to fall into the water.
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What's even more unnerving is that the shark didn't even look like a particularly large individual, but was still powerful enough to throw Nick off balance and send him tumbling into the water.
It's not clear what species of shark was involved in the incident, though the Instagram post with the video suggested it may have been a Lemon Shark.
The Everglades are home to Bull Sharks, which are among the most aggressive species towards humans, with some even considering them the most dangerous.
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Sharks associate splashing with an animal in distress, and are often drawn to it. They can also shadow fishing boats as they associate them with an easy meal.
With all this considered, splashing your hands around in murky waters seems like a fundamentally bad idea.
Fortunately, the other fishermen on the boat were able to quickly pull him back on board and the shark itself appeared to let go of his hand after just a second or so.
A caption with the post read: "Release a fish, rinse off my mitts, shake it out. For me, this post-catch ritual is nearly instinctual at this point. Many of you probably do the same, not thinking twice about it. Never again."
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They added: "Today was one of the scariest days on the water I have ever had. It started off great and we were crushing the fish but the sharks were eating some, despite our best efforts.
"After releasing a snook, Nick washed his hands in the water and was immediately bit by a large [lemon] shark.
"There was no chum or blood in the water and the sharks were unprovoked. The sharks are no joke in the Everglades and the warnings about keeping your hands out of the water are not an exaggeration."
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Lemon sharks are generally not aggressive towards humans however, the splashing sound of washing hands combined with releasing fish from the boat could cause them to mistake the splashing for food.
Lemon sharks may never have had a fatal attack attributed to them, but the same cannot be said of Bull sharks which also stalk the Everglades. And that's before you even get onto the alligators!
Kit Roberts