Costa Rica Biologist, Weeks After Shark Attack, Plans Return Dive to Same Location
COCOS ISLAND, COSTA RICA – Mauricio Hoyos, a marine biologist studying shark behavior off the coast of Costa Rica, intends to dive again at Roca Sucia, the site of a recent shark attack that severely injured him. Hoyos, who was attacked on September 27th while leading a research mission to acoustically tag sharks, expressed no fear or resentment towards the animal and even hopes to encounter it again during a planned trip in January.
Hoyos was approximately 40 meters deep with his team when the attack occurred. They had been alerted to the presence of a large shark by tourists and Hoyos decided to attempt to tag the specimen. The shark, a female estimated to be between 3 and 3.5 meters long, unexpectedly turned and attacked, clamping its jaws onto Hoyos’ head.
“she turned around and stared at me,” Hoyos recounted to the BBC.”I lowered my head, and I felt his lower jaw sink into my cheek and his upper jaw into my skull.I was there, I guess, for a second, no more, inside his jaw, and then he just opened it again.”
Despite sustaining deep wounds and having his oxygen tube crushed, Hoyos was able to ascend to the surface and receive medical attention. Remarkably, his wounds did not become infected, a fact doctors found “incredible.”
Hoyos, who has studied sharks for over three decades, views the attack as a normal animal response to a perceived threat. He plans to return to Cocos Island from January 20th to 27th, specifically to dive at Roca Sucia, not seeking retribution, but to further his understanding of shark behavior.”I’m going to dive there,” he stated. “I feel an even greater respect for sharks.”
