A new Christmas gift that was meant to ward off possible shark attacks didn’t work as intended after a Fort Pierce teenager was bit off the east coast of Florida.
Zack Davis, 16, was bit on the lower right arm while surfing near the at Avalon Park Beach in North Hutchison Island on Tuesday.
“I have a big one right here, which is like pretty deep and I got a pretty good sized one right here,” Davis told NBC 6 South Florida about his injuries.
Davis was wearing a SharkBanz bracelet, which his mother had purchased for him on Christmas.
According to the Sharkbanz website:
Sharkbanz use special patented magnetic technology to deter sharks from attacking people…As the shark approaches a person wearing Sharkbanz, magnetic waves coming from the band disrupt its electro-receptors and it quickly turns away.
The shark, which was believed to be a three to four-foot blacktop, clamped onto his arm for “two to three seconds” before letting go. Davis was able to use the leash from his surf board as a makeshift tourniquet to stop the bleeding and make it back to his home.
After receiving 44 stitches he was released from the local hospital on Wednesday.
Source: NBC 6 South Florida