Category
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AnimalsTranscript
00:00 10.
00:11 The Unbelievable Rescue If you ask me, I'd consider that a mother's
00:14 love for her children to be the strongest, most amazing force in the universe.
00:18 However, a shark is kind of right behind that, in my opinion.
00:22 Time and time again, we've seen mothers risk life and limb just to make sure that their
00:25 children are safe.
00:27 In this entry, we bear witness to motherly love so strong it was able to snatch a life
00:31 away from the jaws of danger.
00:34 No pun intended.
00:35 It's kind of literal at this point.
00:37 Vela Levy and her then 15-year-old daughter Sydney were at the New Smyrna Beach on March
00:41 14th, 2012.
00:43 The mother-daughter duo was all set to spend some quality time at the beach.
00:47 The two women were paddling on their surfboards when the shark attack happened.
00:51 Sydney was immediately pulled underwater, right in front of her horrified mother.
00:55 Sydney was able to get back on her board, though, but when she lifted her leg, it was
00:58 a crimson mess.
01:00 However, the attack didn't stop there.
01:03 The sea creature pulled the girl again and tried to drag her away.
01:07 This was when Vela decided that she wasn't going to let anything harm her daughter.
01:11 She grabbed Sydney's shoulders and pulled hard, and eventually she was able to get Sydney
01:15 on her board, and the two were fortunately helped by other surfers in the area.
01:19 9.
01:20 A Different Outcome Remember how Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed
01:25 became the best of friends?
01:28 No?
01:29 Too young to have watched Rocky?
01:31 Well, anyway, they beat the crud out of one another in the first two movies.
01:34 Then they became friends.
01:36 I know what you're thinking, that wouldn't happen in real life, that's some Dragon Ball
01:39 Z stuff going right there.
01:41 How can you be buddies with a person who previously beat you up?
01:44 The truth is, it actually does happen.
01:47 In this case, it did, although it didn't involve two prize fighters.
01:51 Krishna Thompson and his wife flew to the Bahamas with the intent of celebrating their
01:55 ten year anniversary.
01:56 They were enjoying their day at the beach when Krishna was suddenly bit by a shark on
02:00 the leg and started to drag him into the open ocean.
02:02 By sheer will, he was able to pry the shark's jaws apart, and then he gave his attacker
02:07 a few punches to the nose, sending it scurrying away.
02:10 He survived the attack, but his leg was subsequently amputated.
02:14 You would think that this incident would leave him with a bitter taste in his mouth, hating
02:18 the species that gave him his disability for the rest of his life.
02:21 However, it was the complete opposite.
02:23 Krishna fully accepts the fact that it wasn't the shark's fault that he was attacked.
02:27 Humans have been rapidly encroaching into their territory, making attacks more frequent.
02:32 He is actually now one of the greatest advocates for shark conservation.
02:35 If that isn't some massive story arc, I don't know what is.
02:39 Number 8.
02:40 I filmed my own horror story.
02:44 In 1964, amateur underwater photographer and filmmaker Henry Bors and two other divers
02:49 were playing with some seals in the ocean off Lady Julia Percy Island on Australia.
02:53 I'm pretty sure I could have trailed off at seals and you all would have known what
02:56 happened next.
02:57 Suddenly, a great white came up from under Bors and took off his leg.
03:01 A lot of leg stuff in this one so far.
03:04 His diving partners heard Bors scream and then saw his leg floating in the water.
03:08 They managed to get Bors back onto the boat and he was able to tell them his blood type,
03:12 which was radioed ahead to shore.
03:15 Bors later recounted that he tried to get his leg free by jamming his hand down the
03:18 shark's throat and gouging its eyes.
03:20 Bors is an amateur and underwater photographer and filmmaker, and a few years later he took
03:24 the original film footage from the attack and reconstructed the other parts for a documentary
03:28 called Savage Shadows.
03:31 Number 7.
03:34 Dolphins to the rescue.
03:35 Rob Howes and three others were swimming 100 meters off Ocean Beach in New Zealand when
03:39 they were suddenly encircled by a pod of dolphins.
03:42 They thought they were being warded off by a group of aggressive males that were protecting
03:45 their calves.
03:46 The dolphins were getting closer and closer, as close as 4 centimeters away from the swimmers.
03:51 When Howes found an opening, he started swimming away.
03:54 Then one male dolphin saw him and submerged towards him.
03:57 This was when he looked down and he spotted a great white shark about 2 meters below them.
04:02 When the shark began to make a move towards them, the dolphins went into hyperdrive, agitating
04:07 the water around the swimmers.
04:09 Howes recounted that all he could see was a mass of fins, backs, splashing water, and
04:13 human heads.
04:14 Although it wasn't stated how, but a rescue boat soon approached them which apparently
04:18 drove the shark away, preventing the worst case scenario.
04:21 They realized that the dolphins were acting so strangely in order to confuse the shark,
04:25 preventing the attack.
04:26 Ironically, Howes and the three others were all lifeguards out on a training swim that
04:30 day.
04:32 Number 6.
04:34 Are you ready for your close-up?
04:35 When faced with a dangerous situation like being attacked by a shark, you only have your
04:40 wits and/or whatever is available to fend off for yourself and possibly save your life.
04:45 If you are an underwater photographer shooting one of the most aggressive sharks in the world,
04:50 of course you use your camera.
04:52 Conservationist Russell Easton was photographing a 12-foot tiger shark in the Bahamas when
04:57 he got the close-up he was not expecting.
04:59 He was looking through the camera's viewfinder taking photos of the beast when all of a sudden,
05:03 all he could see was a huge mouth and sharp teeth.
05:07 It was only because of the camera that he was not bitten.
05:09 Easton explains that biting is the only way for sharks to find out what something is and
05:13 is the reason for many shark attacks.
05:16 He was just fortunate that the tiger shark was more curious about the camera than him,
05:20 giving him precious seconds to swim away.
05:22 This horrifying swim isn't without its rewards though.
05:25 He did manage to take a photo like no one else has, the inside of a live ferocious shark's
05:30 mouth.
05:31 Number 5.
05:33 You bite my foot, I'll punch your face.
05:37 As previously explained in the previous entry, sharks take tiny bites on things that they
05:41 are curious about before deciding if it's edible or not.
05:44 Lucky for the guy in this entry, he had the presence of mind and fists of stone to defend
05:48 himself before the shark decided that he was going to be its next meal.
05:52 Joshua Hawley was surfing at his favorite spot off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii's North
05:56 Shore when he felt a push on the left side of his body.
05:59 When he looked, he spotted the unmistakable dorsal fin of a huge shark.
06:04 Then he felt a pumping sensation in his foot.
06:06 He felt no pain and he said it was probably due to the adrenaline.
06:09 When the shark submerged, Hawley knew he only had one course of action.
06:13 He had to defend himself or he was going to be the main course.
06:17 The shark came out, this time on his right side, but he was ready.
06:21 Hawley gave the shark two strong right jabs in the nose, forcing the shark to turn tail
06:25 and swim away.
06:27 Number 4 - A Great Comeback
06:31 One of the most famous surfers on the planet and the subject of a Hollywood film, Bethany
06:35 Hamilton's shark attack is probably one of the most famous in all of history.
06:40 Not because it was such a terrible tragedy, but because it perfectly displays the strength
06:43 and fortitude that we're capable of showing.
06:46 The surfer was riding waves at the age of 13 when a shark came up beside her and bit
06:50 into her board.
06:51 It took her completely off of it.
06:53 The bite was so quick and clean that Hamilton reportedly didn't even realize what had
06:57 happened until she heard her friend screaming and saw the red in the water around her.
07:01 She quickly rushed to the shore.
07:03 Hamilton was then taken to the hospital where her injuries were quickly seen to.
07:07 You might think that this kind of event could scar a young girl forever, but not her.
07:12 Hamilton has gone on not only to continue surfing, but also to become one of the most
07:15 successful female surfers of all time, wearing her scars as a symbol of overcoming odds and
07:20 never letting any disability to stop anyone from doing what they want.
07:25 Number 3 Immortalize on Canvas
07:29 John Singleton Copley was the most renowned painter in Colonial America.
07:33 Although he was best known as a portrait artist, one of his more famous paintings was called
07:37 Watson and the Shark.
07:39 This painting depicts a brutal scene of a fair-haired young boy reaching from the water
07:43 for help as a large shark closes in, mouth open and ready for dinner.
07:48 Copley based his painting on an actual shark attack from 1749.
07:52 The victim was Brooke Watson, a 14-year-old crew member of a trading ship that was docked
07:56 in Havana, Cuba.
07:58 Watson was swimming in the harbor one day when a shark attacked him not once, but twice.
08:03 The good news?
08:04 His shipmates witnessed the attack and pulled him from the water, saving his life.
08:08 The bad news?
08:09 They were a little late.
08:11 Watson lost his foot in the attack and later had the leg amputated below the knee.
08:15 Watson did, however, go on to lead a good full life, serving in the House of Parliament
08:19 for nine years as well as becoming the Lord Mayor of London.
08:22 Not to mention the notoriety he received as being the first known shark attack survivor.
08:28 Number 2 - Sharks in the Shallows
08:31 Shallow water seems like a strange place for a shark attack.
08:34 After all, they sometimes get so close to shore that they can barely move.
08:38 Nonetheless, it does happen.
08:39 While it's hard to say for sure why sharks attack in shallow water, some species, such
08:44 as the bull shark, like to feed in murky, warm, shallow waters.
08:48 On July 6, 2001, a 7.4-foot, 200-pound bull shark tore off the arm of an 8-year-old boy
08:54 in Pensacola, Florida.
08:56 The shark attacked in ways deep water and took a bite off the boy's arm and thigh during
08:59 the first pass.
09:01 The shark then clamped onto his arm.
09:03 While people on the beach wrestled with the shark, it ripped the boy's arm off.
09:07 One man then pulled the shark ashore and shot it four times in the head, cried open the
09:10 mouth with a baton, and reached in and pulled out the boy's arm.
09:14 The boy and his arm were rushed to the hospital.
09:16 The arm, which was ripped off four inches from the shoulder, was reattached, but the
09:20 loss of blood left the boy near death and caused brain damage.
09:23 The boy remained in a light coma when he was released from the hospital five weeks after
09:27 the attack.
09:29 Number 1.
09:31 By the skin of his wetsuit, Rodney Fox is the most famous shark attack victim in history.
09:36 Why is that?
09:38 Because of the extent of his injuries and the fact that he survived them.
09:41 On December 8th, 1963, Fox was defending his Australian spearfishing title when a great
09:46 white shark grabbed him around the middle and took him for a ride.
09:50 He was flying through the water upside down, trying to gouge the shark's eyes.
09:54 The shark released him and came back for more.
09:57 Fox jammed his arm down the throat of the beast and pulled it free, ripping the flesh
10:00 from his arm.
10:02 The shark released him again and came back a third time, dragging Fox along the ocean
10:05 floor.
10:07 After nearly drowning, Fox was released and pulled into a nearby boat.
10:11 His bones were visible on his right hand and arm, and the hand alone required 94 stitches.
10:16 His ribcage, lungs, and upper stomach were all exposed.
10:19 His rescuers kept his wetsuit on which kept his internal organs from spilling out, and
10:23 may have saved his life as well.
10:25 He arrived at the hospital within an hour of the attack, and somehow never went into
10:29 shock.
10:30 Miraculously, his main arteries remained intact, and after four hours of surgery and 360 stitches,
10:36 Fox lived to tell his tale, stating that right after the attack, his body was literally being
10:40 held together by his wetsuit.