Melissa Brunning was trying to feedfour tawny nurse sharks in northwestern Australia. In the footage, she can be seen reaching her hand out above the transparent water when suddenly, she is carried away by one of them. She told Channel Seven:
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I think the shark was just as shocked as I was. The only way to describe it was that the pressure was huge and I felt like the shark shredded the finger to the bone.
Fortunately, her friends immediately helped her out of the water. Although she thought she was going to lose her finger, Melissa was very lucky. She got away with just a broken bone, a shredded ligament and an infection. But she could have lost her life! The shark that grabbed her was 6.5 feet long, and the waters of the Kimberley region are infested with salt-water crocodiles that can be up to 23 feet long and weigh a tonne.
Melissa Brunning realised her mistake and vowed to stop bothering wild animals.
‘It was not the fault of the shark at all,’ she said. She learned to ‘respect sea creatures, to watch them with admiration, but to leave them alone.’
Take a look at the video above to see the terrifying footage for yourself...