Tagged Galápagos Shark Bites Mexican Biologist

Mexican marine biologist Dr. Mauricio Hoyos, 48, was seriously injured while tagging sharks for the One Ocean Worldwide Coalition off Cocos Island, Costa Rica, when a female Galápagos shark he had just tagged turned and bit his head. The encounter, at about 123 feet deep, occurred after a pole-spear tag embedded in the shark’s dorsal fin; Hoyos said the shark sank roughly 27 teeth into his scalp, face and jaw and knocked loose his mask and air hoses. Blinded by blood and losing air, Hoyos made a controlled ascent to avoid decompression sickness and was pulled aboard by colleagues, then after a roughly 36-hour transfer from Cocos Island was taken to a hospital in San José in stable but serious condition and is awaiting jaw surgery. Hoyos — who has spent three decades tagging sharks and was leading the expedition — said the shark’s reaction was defensive after being punctured by the tag, and authorities and colleagues called the incident extremely rare and praised the rescue response and his calm actions. Medical teams said he is expected to make a full recovery.