cookiecutter2

January 23rd, 2013

Cookiecutter sharks inhabit deep tropical waters and their bites have been found on many deep-sea animals, like this tuna recovered in the Bahamas. Photo by John Soward

Cookiecutter sharks inhabit deep tropical waters and their bites have been found on many deep-sea animals, like this tuna recovered in the Bahamas. A new study co-authored by University of Florida researchers documents the first cookiecutter shark attack on a live human. Co-author George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File housed at the Florida Museum of Natural History on the UF campus, said the sharks bite their victims, then rotate to remove the flesh, “kind of like using a melon-baller.”