Katarina Zarutskie, a 19-year-old International Business and Nursing student from the University of Miami, had a somewhat tragic experience in the Bahamas.
The model and lifestyle blogger was travelling with her boyfriend and his family a month ago, where she found a spot filled with swimming nurse sharks. Multiple people were swimming in the pool with the sharks when she decided to join them for a photo, as reported by BuzzFeed.
“Nurse sharks are calm creatures,” Zarutskie said, adding that she has seen Instagram photos of people swimming next to the animals. True enough, swimming next to the nurse sharks in the Bahamas is a common and harmless tourist activity, according to the report.
However, Zarutskie didn’t have such a great experience when she tried to lay her head back…
…and one of the sharks bit down her arm, and “pulled her under.”
Thankfully, Zarutskie had a sense of urgency and remained calm as she exited the area safely without letting her blood drip.
The model only suffered a bite on her arm, and acknowledged how fortunate she was. “I am lucky to have my hand,” she said, adding that she is “very, very blessed and fortunate” that she is safe. “It was a testament to how calm I stayed.”
Zarutskie received hate comments from people online when she posted a photo of herself in the area via Instagram, telling her that she was supposedly blaming the sharks for the attack.
She responded and said, “[I] love sharks and I’m not throwing them under the bus… They are wild animals and it’s an uncontrollable situation.” She also added the caption “PSA: Sharks are cute and can nibble at times if not careful.”
Noted. InqPOP!/Bea Constantino
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