Reef shark attacks Dutch celeb biologist Freek Vonk

Dutch celebrity biologist Freek Vonk was attacked by a shark while filming for a new television program in the Bohamas. "After a 3 hour long operation, for which I was completely sedated, and more than 100 stitches, I can again give a thumbs up", he writes on Facebook. The Dutch man emphasizes that this was a series of unfortunate events, that is no one's fault, including the shark itself.

Vonk was bitten on the upper arm by a reef shark. "These friendly sharks are, like basically all sharks, harmless to humans. But it still went wrong. One of the sharks made a mistake and took a big bite out of my right arm." The bite did not do any permanent damage, no vital nerves or muscles were hit. "I can move my hand, fingers and arm normally."

"I've been working with wild animals for many years and that of course entails great risks, they are still wild animals after all. But my passion is and continues to be showing you how beautiful the world is, to bring you figuratively to the most special places in the world to seek out the coolest and strangest animals. I will always continue to do so!" Vonk writes.

He emphasizes that the bite was an "unfortunate combination of circumstances" that no one could do anything about. "I just had incredibly bad luck." And he regrets having to cut this "beautiful journey" short. "I can't wait until I can go diving with these beautiful animals again."