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Americas|‘She Could Have Killed Me’: Scientist Survives Shark Bite to His Head
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/world/americas/marine-biologist-shark-bite-costa-rica.html
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“My whole head was inside of her mouth,” Mauricio Hoyos, a marine scientist from Mexico, said from a hospital in Costa Rica.
Oct. 1, 2025, 5:38 p.m. ET
Dr. Mauricio Hoyos, an experienced marine scientist from Mexico, fastened his scuba gear and descended into the waters off Cocos Island, hundreds of miles southwest of Costa Rica, on Saturday to tag sharks for conservation research.
Within minutes, when he reached a depth of 123 feet, he spotted a nine-foot-long Galápagos shark, a migratory species. He took aim with his pole spear and released a tag. It met its mark, embedding in the base of the shark’s dorsal fin.
Then what started as a typical day took a sharp turn. Dr. Hoyos, 48, became the target.
From about a meter away, the shark darted at him, jaws agape.
“She turned sideways in my direction; it was really fast,” he said in an interview on Wednesday. “It was wide open; my whole head was inside of her mouth in less than a second.”
He heard a cracking sound. “But it was just pressure,” he said. “As soon as she felt my skull, she released me. She opened and swam away.”
Blood and water filled his mask, which the shark had knocked askew. Its teeth had severed the air hoses on his scuba gear.
