Random Things about What It's Like to Be Attacked by a Shark (17 items)

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  (#15) You Might Start Bleeding Out

  Most shark attack victims don't die from blunt-force trauma, spinal injury, or drowning. Instead, they die from exsanguination, also known as bleeding to death. And all it takes to do that is a single bite. After you're bitten, especially if you've lost a limb, you're going to have damaged arteries, bones, and maybe even internal organs. Even if you're not missing a limb, many shark bites are several inches deep, and can span massive areas on your body. Because of that, you're going to start bleeding a lot, and fast. You might not feel it because you're in shock, but chances are you'll pretty quickly be feeling woozy. 
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  (#2) It'll All Start With A Little Nudge

  Before a shark bites, it tends to check out what exactly it's biting first. So, if you're on a surf board, you might feel a little bump from their nose. If you're swimming, you might feel something brush up against your legs. In some cases, it feels more like a sudden impact, even if there's no initial bite, sometimes hard enough to knock you off a surfboard. While one nudge might not signify danger, secondary bumps could spell trouble.
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  (#14) Your Body Temperature Is Going To Drop

  The good news here is that sharks rarely consume people. In most attacks, several bites are the worst of it, and maybe a missing limb. However, after you're bitten, you're going to be bleeding, and you might go into shock. The open ocean is not an ideal location for this to happen. Seeing as you're in water that's most likely somewhat cold, your body temperature is going to start to drop. Part of that is going to be the blood loss, and many shark attack victims quickly develop hypothermia.

  But sometimes hypothermia can work to your advantage: cold temperatures help your blood clot faster, and when every drop counts, hypothermia can actually save your life.
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  (#5) You Won't See It Coming, But Others Probably Will

  According to several people who have been bitten by sharks, they never knew there was a shark near them until they were being attacked. One attack victim from 2015, Hunter Treschl, said it happened like this:

  I didn't see it coming. I was just in about waist-deep water, playing with my cousin... and felt this kind of hit on my left leg... like it was a big fish coming near you or something. Then it just kind of hit my arm. That was the first I saw it, when it was biting up my left arm.

  He lost his arm in the attack. However, sharks that can kill tend to be pretty large. This means that those far away from you might see a shape in the water way before you do. 
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  (#13) Thrashing To Get Away Will Only Make It Worse

  Your initial instinct in trying to get away from this attack is probably to fight back, swim vigorously, and thrash about to get attention from potential help. Well, that's not always going to help. Fighting back might be your only choice if you're mid-bite, as is swimming away if you're not, but those behaviors signal to the shark, as well as other nearby sharks, that you're injured and panicking.

  Instead, you can try calm movements, nothing sudden or splashy.
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  (#1) Sharks Actually Don't Want To Bite You, But They Will

  Contrary to popular belief, sharks are actually not mindless killing machines. Sharks have particular tastes, and while blood makes them a little nuts, their regular prey is seals, sea lions, fish, and lots of other things aside from humans. The fact is, we don't taste good, and neither do our wetsuits, our surfboards, or our diving gear, so it's very likely that if a shark bites you, it won't go back for seconds. They just give you an initial bite because they're confused. It's even less likely that the shark will actually try to eat you, which is why most deaths from shark attacks happen back on shore or in the hospital. 

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