A nurse is lucky to still have her leg after a tiger shark attack in the Galapagos.
Delia Yriate was snorkeling July 5 off Baltra Island in the Mosquera Islet. The 42-year old nurse was snorkeling with a tourist group when she decided to head to the boat around 1 p.m.
“I was getting to the shore and suddenly I felt a blow, but I didn’t really realize what it was,” she told Radio Encantada Galapagos. She was uncertain what had occurred because she had not felt pain.
“Then my leg felt a little more numb and heavy. When I saw that a pelican was coming near me, that’s when I turned around and I saw that there was blood.”
That’s when she realized she was injured and became nervous. She called for help and several guests helped her into the boat and then took her to shore.
She was transported to a dock before being taken to Hospital República del Ecuador on Santa Cruz Island.
Yriate was treated by Dr. Renato Pacheco who performed surgery and was able to connect the flesh together using over 1,000 stitches to save her leg.
Amazingly, Yriate stayed conscious throughout the ordeal. The nurse who works in the United States is looking at several months of physical therapy, but based on video she appears to have full mobility of her injured leg.
A GoFundMe has been started to help the San Jose nurse as she recovers.
Tiger sharks can inflict severe damage. The sharks are known as the trash cans of the sea as they will consume almost anything. Necropsies performed on the species have found old tires, signs, and other discarded trash in their stomachs.
Unfortunately, negative interactions can cause severe injury and death.
A man was killed in by a tiger shark in a horrific video last month.
Vladimir Popov, 23, was swimming with his girlfriend on June 8 when a tiger shark appeared. Video of the shark attack shows Popov calling out to his father for help as the shark strikes multiple times. Unfortunately, the shark severed the young man’s head and hands. A 12-foot pregnant tiger shark was captured shortly after the attack and authorities stated that Popov’s remains were found in the shark.
On May 28, a spearfisherman was killed by a tiger shark in New Caledonia, the second fatal tiger shark attack in the area in 2023. The first occurred when Chris Davis, 59, was attacked while swimming. Video from the scene showed Davis struggling as he tried to make it to safety.
All locations have been marked on the 2023 Shark Attack Map.
