The man who survived a shark bite to the head

Marine biologist Mauricio Hoyos has been studying sharks for more than 30 years. Part of his work involves placing monitoring devices on these animals.

During a business trip to Costa Rica in September, Mauricio was tracking a 3- to 3.5-meter-long Galapagos shark.

As he positioned himself to place a watch mark on the animal’s flipper, something unexpected happened: he was attacked.

“As soon as I looked out of the corner of my eye, I saw the shark’s mouth right in front of me,” he said. “All I could do was lower my head, because I wanted to protect my jugular. I mean, it was an immediate reaction.”

The shark plunged its jaw into Mauricio’s head, sustaining five injuries. But they were not infected and the biologist quickly recovered.

In this video, he tells how it all happened and why this episode made him see sharks in a different way.