Giant eel bites woman vacationing in Hawaii: 'There was blood everywhere'

FoxNews.com ^ | Aug 4, 2018 | Jennifer Earl

[ETL]

Kristen Porter was relaxing on a floatie at Kuhio Beach in Waikiki, Hawaii last week when she felt something sharp pierce her foot. Wincing in pain, Porter pulled her foot out of the water and saw a terrifying sight.

"I knew immediately that it was something bad, and it wasn't just like a fish nibble, so I pulled my foot into the air and there was blood everywhere," Porter, of Annapolis, Maryland, told KHON-TV on Thursday.

With help from her son and fellow beachgoers, Porter hobbled to shore to examine the mysterious wound. Once on land, a lifeguard observed several gashes on her foot, telling her the marks appeared to be consistent with an eel bite.

Porter initially thought it was a shark attack, though the International Shark File in Florida confirmed to KHON-TV days after the Sunday incident that wasn't the case.

Waikiki Aquarium director Andrew Rossiter, who examined photos of the injury, told KHON-TV he also believes it was an eel bite, though they're extremely rare — especially at Kuhio Beach, which isn't particularly rocky.

Rossiter determined the likely culprit was a moray eel, a snake-like fish that can reach up to a whopping 13 feet in length. Some moray eels can even weigh more than humans, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) described in a blog post.

[Major Matt Mason]

You win the internet today, my friend.

[BRL]

Great. Now make the eel look like dean Martin.

[RinaseaofDs]

You sir/maam should be in the entertainment business! Post of the day!

[M Kehoe]

Are they edible?

5.56mm

[leaning conservative]

Crummy day, first genuine smile from me. Thanks! And that’s brilliant.

[Lurkina.n.Learnin]

I don’t know. The Indians here on the Klamath and Trinity rivers eat the lamprey eels.

[BlueLancer]

Are they edible?

There is some evidence that they are ...

..

..

..

...Oh, you mean "are eels edible?" ...

[LibWhacker]

LOL, love it. That’s going on my email list.

[GoldenPup]

Hilarious 👍

[Beach333]

I experienced the same in the Keys and this one was quite docile. It was about 6-7 feet long and wrapped itself around me and let me pet it as it swam around me, probably wanting food. Once it’s around you, what are you going to do? If they bite, they don’t let go until you relax.

Another world down there.

[b4its2late]

Swimming pools are a bit safer. No oceans for me anymore.

[dfwgator]

Was she in a hovercraft?

[backwoods-engineer]

Coddled in their urban cocoons, slathered in normalcy bias, disconnected from nature and even their sources of food and energy, these citiots assume that there is nothing in nature that can hurt them. In centuries past, nature was NOT a cuddly show on the Animal Planet channel. Nature contains eels with razor-sharp teeth, or packs of wolves that jumped unsuspecting victims. Nature could KILL you at any moment. It was to be guarded against at all times.

Maybe moderns will have to re-learn those lessons all over again after the collapse comes.

[Bonemaker]

“Was it a rare and elusive Moose Eel?”

Seeking the bearded clam?

[niteowl77]

the likely culprit was a moray eel, a snake-like fish that can reach up to a whopping 13 feet in length

So... another, somewhat "Joe Biden-esque" verse:

If a big f-ing eel
Bites you right in the heel
That's a moray...

[ClearCase_guy]

I guess Moray eels are not as friendly as they look.

[BlueLancer]

Swimming pools are a bit safer.

[M Kehoe]

LOL.

Did that pic take some serious searching?

5.56mm

[Intolerant in NJ]

Excellent.....

[Nuc 1.1]

Those boys need to floss more....