After Shark Bite, Guy Stitches Leg, Grabs a Beer

When a New Zealand man felt something odd on his leg while spearfishing, he assumed it was one of his buddies. "I looked behind to see who it was and got a bit of a shock," James Grant, a 24-year-old doctor, tells Radio New Zealand. It was, apparently, a seven-gill shark—which can grow to almost 10 feet, an expert tells Stuff.co.nz. Though he couldn't see it, he guessed its jaw spanned about 8 inches. His next thought: "Bugger, now I have to try and get this thing off my leg." Grant stabbed at it using a knife already in his hand, the Guardian reports. "Put a few nicks in it," he says.

After getting out of the water, he discovered bite marks about 2 inches long. Fortunately, he had a first aid kit handy, so he sewed himself up before heading to the pub. There, he got a beer—and a bandage so he didn't bleed all over the floor. He later got "proper" stitches from colleagues, 3 News reports. Yesterday, he was back at work. The biggest downside: "It would have been great if I had killed it because there was a fishing competition on" at the pub, Grant tells Stuff. (More New Zealand stories.)