Imagine this: You’re spearfishing with a couple of buddies when you feel something tugging at your leg. You think it’s one of your buddies trying to get your attention. You turn around to discover that it’s a shark. That got your attention, alright! What would you do next? If you were lucky enough to escape with your life, what would be your first move once you were out of the water?

Chances are, you probably would not do what New Zealand doctor James Grant did. Read all about his fascinating story published in The Sydney Morning Herald.

grant_sharkbiteA New Zealand man has survived being attacked by a shark: driving it off with his knife, stitching his own wound onshore and going to the pub for a beer before heading to hospital.

Junior doctor James Grant was spearfishing with friends near Colac Bay at the base of the South Island on Saturday when he was attacked by what he believed was a sevengill shark.

The 24-year-old was in about two metres of murky water when he felt a tug on his leg, which he initially thought was a friend playing a trick on him.

“I looked behind to see who it was and got a bit of a shock,” he told Radio New Zealand.

He didn’t see the shark and had no idea how big it was. He said he thought it might have been about 20 centimetres across the jaw. However, he wasn’t scared.

“[I thought] bugger, now I have to try and get this thing off my leg.”

Photos: Shark Defender (top), The Sydney Morning Herald (above)