A fishing content creator filmed himself being attacked by a shark in Fiji — amazingly saying he had “no hard feelings” toward the predator that nearly bit off his leg.
“Feeling incredibly lucky to still have my leg, full use of my foot and to be on the mend,” Henry Gibbs shared in a message to his over 113,000 followers after the July 18 attack.
“Four surgeries and a skin graft later it’s looking like I’ll make a full recovery, which I’m hugely grateful for.”
The New Zealander captured the entire incident on camera, which happened during his very first dive in the remote South Pacific island nation.
His footage shows a gray reef shark rapidly propelling itself toward him before sinking his teeth into Gibbs’ right leg, as he lets out a bloodcurdling scream.
Divers Colby and Dan, who were with him on the spearfishing excursion, helped a badly bloodied Gibbs out of the water and tended to his grisly wound before rushing him to the hospital.
Gibbs later said he had “no hard feelings” toward the beast, acknowledging he was “in its environment hunting its food” and speculating that noise from the boat and their spearguns may have agitated it.
“I’ll never know exactly what caused the change, but eventually it started making tight semicircles beneath us, became increasingly agitated and even sprinted at the boat,” he wrote on social media.
“I’ll never know exactly what triggered it.”
Reef sharks typically range in size from 5-6 feet, compared to the formidable 11-16 foot length of the average great white. Gibbs admitted he underestimated its diminutive size.
“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.”
Gibbs shared a few post-attack takeaways with his followers after his hard-learned lesson.
“If a shark’s behaviour starts to change, end the dive and move on,” he wrote.
“Stick to plain black wetsuits in the tropics. I’ve since heard of several grey reef shark incidents involving divers wearing camouflage wetsuits,” he continued.
“If a shark becomes agitated, erratic or increasingly aggressive, don’t ignore it.
Lastly, Gibbs warned: “Don’t judge the risk by the shark’s size.”
After four surgeries and a skin graft on his right leg, Gibbs is expected to retain the use of his foot.
He said the incident has left him with “an even greater appreciation for life.”
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