The biologist who survived a shark bite: We must end the myth of killer sharks'

"Hoyos, who normally resides in La Paz, on Mexico's Baja California peninsula, had traveled to the Cocos Islands as part of the One Ocean Worldwide Coalition to conserve the oceans and their biodiversity. The goal of the expedition was to implant markers on hammerhead sharks to track their local movements and migrations, map their habitat coordinates, and monitor their populations, which have been drastically reduced worldwide in recent decades."

"This activity is fundamental to their protection and is part of the biologist's routine, having carried out some 2,000 taggings throughout his career. Armed with his Hawaiian sling, a fishing spear with a special tip, he had just tagged a nearly four-meter-long female of the Galapagos species and was preparing to record its data on a tablet when he received a bite that nearly cost him his life."

"I oriented myself toward it and shot it at the base of its dorsal fin, where it has the thickest muscle layer and it doesn't hurt as much. But the animal reacted to the sting, turned around, and that's when it all happened. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw it turn toward me, and my immediate reaction was to lower my head. Suddenly, my head was inside its mouth. It was incredible; I felt the pressure of the bite; my skull crunched!"

Mauricio Hoyos fell in love with the great white shark after seeing Jaws and dedicated his life to working with these animals. He lives in La Paz, Baja California, and traveled to the Cocos Islands as part of One Ocean Worldwide Coalition for ocean biodiversity. The expedition aimed to implant markers on hammerhead sharks to track movements and migrations and monitor drastically reduced populations. Tagging is fundamental to protection and part of his routine, with 2,000 taggings in his career. While tagging a nearly four-meter Galapagos female with a Hawaiian sling, a reaction to the spear caused a bite that crushed his skull and nearly cost him his life. Hoyos is recovering in Mexico City.

Read at english.elpais.com