People who are willing to go out of their way to rescue the life of an animal are truly valuable heroes. While most rescue missions tend to happen above water, sometimes fascinating things can happen under the sea. When one diver was approached by a shark during an aquatic adventure, he was pretty terrified. That was until he realized that the shark was in desperate need of help!
20. Local Diver
Image: wp.jumblejoy.com
Josh Eccles is a local diver that had been diving with the Emerald Dive Charters in Jupiter, Florida. Eccles is no stranger to the art of diving and has been doing it for the past five years.
19. Diving Experience
Image: YouTube
For the past five years, Eccles has been diving into the waters of Jupiter, Florida. He does this three times a day every single day. Needless to say, the man has a ton of experience.
18. One Day
Image: wp.jumblejoy.com
However, on one particular day, Eccles went diving with his team and could tell that something wasn’t right. While in the Atlantic Ocean, a shark continuously tried to get his attention. It was very strange.
17. Lemon Shark
Image: YouTube
The shark that was trying desperately to get the diver’s attention was a lemon shark. “They always bump into us but they don’t bump into us that frequently,” Eccles told WPBF. That’s how he knew something was wrong.
16. Female Shark
Image: YouTube/TomoNews US
“This female shark kept constantly bumping into me,” Eccles told CBS News. “And when she would bump into me she would lift up her head, showing me her stomach.” It was pretty intimidating, to say the least.
15. Common Sighting
Image: Discovery
It’s not unusual to run into lemon sharks when diving in the Jupiter waters. Local residents constantly have run-ins with the sharks on the beach. However, that doesn’t mean that they aren’t an intimidating bunch.
14. Facts
Image: Danielle’s Dives Blog
Running into lemon sharks can be a pretty scary sighting. These sharks are very powerful and can reach lengths of up to 11 feet. They also feast on other sharks, large seabirds, and other sea creatures.
13. Not Aggressive
Image: divein.com
However, even though lemon sharks are big and powerful they’re typically not aggressive toward humans. That’s why when Eccles had run-ins with them before he was never quite fearful of the situation.
12. Instinct
Image: YouTube/TomoNews US
After the shark had continuously nudged Eccles, he realized that something was up. That’s when he decided to see what the shark was trying to show him. Suddenly, Eccles saw what the problem was!
11. Huge Hook
Image: TomoNews US
As Eccles looked closer, he saw that there was a huge hook sticking out of the shark’s belly. “It would lift up its stomach and I noticed something, so I kind of poked at it a little, the little hook or something,” Eccles explained.
10. Trying To Help
Image: palmbeachpost.com
Eccles began to try and help by pulling out the hook. However, the first time he tried to help, the shark quickly swam away. This wasn’t going to be an easy rescue.
9. Swimming Back
Image: wtsp.com
Eventually, the shark swam back to Eccles. This time, he grabbed the shark by the head and pulled up so that he could get a better look. “It was metal,” he said. “It wouldn’t give. I would slowly pull, pull, pull.”
8. Pulling
Image: YouTube/TomoNews US
Eccles continued to pull and pull in order to get the object out. He could tell that it was a hook, however, he didn’t know just how big it was. Finally, he was able to pull the thing out and it was enormous.
7. Enormous
Image: wtsp.com
When Eccles finally worked the hook out he was shocked by the size of it. Eccles, who is 6-foot-3-inches tall and 200 pounds said that the hook was the size of his hand. It’s no wonder the shark was so adamant about its removal.
6. Removal
Image: YouTube/TomoNews US
“It was the kind of thing she definitely wanted out,” he said. “As soon as I started messing with it, [the shark] was like ‘Get this out of me.’” Eccles has an idea of how it had gotten stuck in the first place.
5. Swallowed
Image: APost
Eccles believes the shark must have swallowed the hook over a year ago. Finally, the hook had worked its way out of her body. “That was a crazy opportunity, experience to be a part of,” Eccles said.
4. Saying Thanks
Image: YouTube/The Dodo
Eccles and his team had been filming the entire interaction when they captured something else amazing on camera. It seems that at one point the shark swam up to the camera as a way to give thanks.
3. Successful
Image: YouTube/The Dodo
Once the hook had been removed from the shark’s belly, she was grateful and ready to be on her way. She enthusiastically swam away and into the clear waters. Eccles felt accomplished.
2. Incredible Experience
Image: YouTube/The Dodo
What Eccles and his team got to experience was something truly incredible. Getting that close to a lemon shark that was injured without getting hurt is a spectacular occurrence.
1. True Hero
Image: YouTube/The Dodo
Eccles is a true hero for going out of his way to help out the poor lemon shark. Thanks to his bravery, the lemon shark can now continue on with her life in the waters.