I fought off a huge shark with a knife, and now I make jewelry from its teeth (6 photos)

On May 23, 20-year-old Angus Kokott was enjoying a snorkeling break in shallow waters off Mangareva, French Polynesia, when he was attacked by a 2.5-metre grey reef shark. He plunged a knife into the shark's gills and managed to escape.





Angus was airlifted to a nearby hospital where he underwent six hours of surgery. Two major nerves and several tendons in his arm were damaged. To restore mobility, doctors had to transplant skin and nerves, as well as remove several teeth and tooth fragments from the wound.

Although Angus is still undergoing physical therapy, he is eager to get back into the ocean. The ordeal has not stopped him. He says he wants to make earrings from the shark teeth removed from his arm.



"When the shark bit, I didn't have time to panic - in such situations, you just need to act. At first, I felt a lot of pain - I thought I would lose my arm. After the nerve and skin transplant, it heals well, but I'm going through it day by day. It was an important experience in my life, and that's why I'm going to make earrings out of my teeth," the guy shares.

"I haven't lost my desire to explore the ocean. I can't wait to go back."





Angus was swimming with a friend when the shark attacked him. He managed to cover his head and neck with his hand.

"My first instinct was to grab a line cutter and without thinking I lunged at the shark, trying my best to protect myself. It was only a small knife, but I am incredibly grateful I had it that day. When the shark let go of my hand, all I could see was a huge blood stain around itself. But I still managed to climb up onto the reef."



Using his swimming goggles, Angus made a makeshift tourniquet around his arm. A friend helped him to the nearby town of Rikitea, where he was rushed to hospital in Tahiti. Three weeks later, he returned home to East London, South Africa, where he received further treatment. He had skin grafted from his left thigh and nerves from the back of his heel.



He added: "If I hadn't covered myself with my hand, the shark could have gotten to my neck. My jugular vein would have been right in its reach. I would have died for sure."