A man survived a shark attack – and is getting the teeth left embedded in his arm turned into jewellery. Angus Kockott, 20, was out snorkelling in the shallow water off the island of Mangareva, French Polynesia.
Out of nowhere, a suspected 2.5m grey reef shark approached him from behind a reef – and clamped its jaws on his arm. Quick-thinking Angus pulled a 4in blade – used for cutting diving lines – from his pocket and stabbed the shark in the gills before swimming to safety.
An emergency military aircraft was called to fly him to the nearest hospital, where he had a life-saving six-hour surgery. The shark’s sharp teeth severed two of the major nerves in Angus’ arm, plus some tendons.
He had skin and nerve grafts – and several teeth and tooth fragments were retrieved from the injured limb. While he is still undergoing physio and nerve treatments, Angus said it hasn’t put him off – and he can’t wait to get back in the water. He described the attack as a “defining experience” in his life – and is even getting earrings made out of the teeth pulled from his arm.
Angus said: “When the shark bit, I didn’t have time to panic – you just have to act when you have that kind of adrenaline in those situations. At first I felt immense pain – I really thought I would lose my arm.
“After my nerve graft and skin grafts, it’s healing well but I’m taking it day by day. It’s been a defining experience in my life and that’s why I’m getting the teeth made into earrings It hasn’t put me off being in the ocean – I can’t wait until I can go back.”
Angus was out sailing with a friend around the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia when he was attacked on May 23, when the pair separated to do some freediving. He just managed to put out his arm to protect his head and neck, before the shark attacked.
He said: “Seeing that shark right before it bit me – that was a real ‘oh sh*t’ moment. My first reaction was to get my knife used for cutting lines, and I just went for the shark as hard as I could.
“It was only a little knife, but I’m very glad I had it on that day. After it released my arm, I couldn’t see anything except for a huge pool of blood around me, but I managed to stand up on a reef. My arm was literally squirting blood – it looked like a stripped drumstick.”
Angus tied goggles around his arm to create a makeshift tourniquet. His friend helped him get to safety in a nearby town, Rikitea, and he was taken to Taaone Hospital in Tahiti.
The next day doctors “took my arm apart and put it back together again”. After three weeks recovering in Tahiti he flew home to East London, South Africa, for further treatments.
The nerves in his arm had been completely severed by the attack meaning he had little movement or feeling. He had a skin graft using skin from his left thigh and a nerve graft using nerves transplanted from the back of his heel.
He said: “If I hadn’t blocked the shark with my arm, it could have gone for my neck – my jugular vein was right there. I would’ve been toast.
“Or, if it had come to bite me again, I would have been too injured to fight back or get away. I think I would have died then in the water, or drowned.”
Angus is itching to get back in the water and continue his training for a career in sailing. “My assumption was it was a territory thing – you can’t blame the animal,” he said.