An Instagram model has been bitten by a shark while posing for pictures in shark-infested waters. Katarina Zarutskie from California, United States was visiting the Exuma Islands in the Bahamas when she decided to swim with a group of nurse sharks - a popular pastime that tourists to the area partake in at their own risk. After spotting a gathering of the sharks, Zarutskie jumped in the water and began to float amongst the bottom-dwelling creatures. According to Zarutskie, she'd seen photos of people doing the same thing on social media and figured it was safe. However, the nursing student, who runs a popular lifestyle blog and has more than 45,000 followers, was bitten on her wrist moments after entering the water by a shark attempting to drag her under. After finally freeing her arm from the shark’s mouth, Zarutskie covered the wound to stop the flow of blood from spreading through the water. The terrifying ordeal, captured by her boyfriend’s dad on camera, shows Zarutskie struggling underwater as she attempts to escape the five-foot shark’s grip. The attack happened while she was swimming in the Bahamas (Katarina Zarutskie) She managed to wade out of the water, where she was then rushed to land. “At that point, your body has so much adrenaline going and you just have to get out of the situation, but I stayed extremely calm,” she recalled to BBC News of the moments following the attack. Although nurse sharks are typically docile and harmless to humans, they will attack defensively if they are being disturbed. Zarutskie needed stitches after the attack (Katarina Zarutskie) After sharing her story, Zarutskie faced ridicule over her decision to swim with the sharks, with many accusing her of being social media-obsessed. Dismissing the backlash online, which she says has been spun to make her look like “a stupid blonde Instagram model," she rejected the claims that she was not supposed to be in the water or entered during feeding time. And the 19-year-old has not let the experience put her off from travelling or nature. The world’s best shark diving locations Show all 10 1 /10 The world’s best shark diving locations The world’s best shark diving locations Australia There are many shark species which can be sighted off the coast of Australia, including great white sharks, grey nurse sharks and reef sharks, but Ningaloo Reef on the western side of the country offers the chance for you to get in the water with the world’s biggest fish, the whaleshark (pictured). From April to July, these massive creatures can be reliably found near the surface, gulping down huge mouthfuls of microscopic food, and this is when you can snorkel with the behemoths. The world’s best shark diving locations Great Britain The good old UK has its own world-class shark encounter, and not just any shark, but the second-largest in the world - and best of all, you don’t even have to be a diver to see them! In the summer months, huge basking sharks (pictured) appear off the coast of Cornwall and around the Isle of Man, feeding on plankton at the surface, offering a close encounter to snorkellers. The world’s best shark diving locations Mexico Mexico has several shark-diving spots up its sleeve. Guadalupe Island, which sits 150 miles west of the Baja Peninsula in the Pacific Ocean, is considered the ultimate location to cage-dive with great white sharks (pictured), blessed as it is with clear blue waters and plentiful food sources. On the other side of the country, in the waters off Playa del Carmen in Cancun, you can dive with migrating female bull sharks between November and March. The world’s best shark diving locations The Bahamas The Bahamas is known as the shark-diving capital of the world, mainly due to the fact that Caribbean reef sharks (pictured) can be regularly sighted in the deep waters off the scattered islands, but more recently two specific areas have become a Mecca for shark divers. Tiger Beach, off the west coast of Grand Bahama, is a prime site all year round for - you guessed it - tiger sharks, which cruise in the shallow waters over an immense sandbank and will come extremely close to divers, while off Bimini, a similar sandbank is home to immense great hammerhead sharks in February. The world’s best shark diving locations Egypt The Egyptian Red Sea is home to several species of shark, including grey reef, scalloped hammerhead, silvertip and even the odd whaleshark or tiger, but one of its most-majestic inhabitants is the oceanic whitetip (pictured). This highly distinctive shark, with its vast, rounded pectoral fins resembling airplane wings, can often be sighted off the offshore marine park islands of The Brothers, Daedalous and Elphinstone in the winter months, though they have been seen all year round. The world’s best shark diving locations South Africa Mention ‘South Africa’ and ‘sharks’ and people immediately think ‘great white sharks’, but this country offers far more than just the opportunity to cage-dive with the ultimate apex predator off Dyer Island and Geyser Rock near Gansbaai. You can also get in among packs of blacktip sharks (pictured) and ragged tooth sharks off the KwaZulu-Natal coast on the eastern side of the continent, and of course, from May to July, this is a prime location to sample the Sardine Run, when billions of sardines migrate northwards and attract hundreds of sharks, not to mention whales, dolphins and other predators Getty Images The world’s best shark diving locations Cuba Bull sharks (pictured) are one of the most-feared of all shark species, mainly because they prey in the shallows, around estuaries and even miles upstream in rivers, which means they are more likely to come into contact with humans. However, off Santa Lucia on Cuba’s northeastern shore, between August and February, divers can view these awesome predators at close range, as a local dive centre routinely hand-feeds them with scraps of fish. Getty Creative The world’s best shark diving locations Canary Islands, Spain The Canary Islands, a sun-and-sand tourist hotspot, might seem an unlikely place for shark diving, but there is a species of shark that resides in these waters. The angel shark (pictured) is a placid, bottom-dwelling animal that closely resembles a ray at first glance. Growing up to two-and-a-half metres in length, they are hard to spot, often lying camouflaged on the seabed. The world’s best shark diving locations Galapagos Islands, Ecuador The world-famous Galapagos Islands, an archipelago of volcanic islands sitting astride the Equator some 575 miles from the Ecuador coastline, have been in the top five best dive destinations on the planet ever since liveaboards started visiting here. Divers can expect up close and personal encounters with scalloped hammerhead sharks (pictured), Galapagos sharks, and even mighty whalesharks. The world’s best shark diving locations Cocos Islands, Costa Rica The remote Cocos Islands - they lie some 340 miles off the coast of Costa Rica - are a magnet for divers seeking some serious shark action. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, Cocos boasts various species of shark in its waters, but is most renowned for its massive shoals of scalloped hammerheads and whitetip reef sharks (pictured). “I’m not afraid of the ocean and if anything I respect and love it more," she told BBC News. “You can't even predict how another human is going to react to situations, let alone an animal. I definitely will be thinking twice but it won't be scaring me away!" Zarutskie’s wound, which still had fragments of teeth in it, required stitches and antibiotics - and it will likely scar.<doc-sep>THE BAHAMAS -- A Houston model said she loves sharks even after she was bitten by one in the Bahamas.Model Katarina Elle Zarutskie was bitten by a nurse shark while on a family trip.She said the shark clamped down on her wrist and pulled her under. "Next thing I knew I was underwater and adrenaline just kicks in," she said. "I was leaning back for probably no more than 10 seconds, and this shark just grabbed my wrist. I know he mistook me. It was an accident and he probably thought I was food, and I am very lucky that I was able to rip my arm away from him. "After getting back to the surface, Zarutskie said she covered her wrist and headed for land.The models said she's fine after the attack.She had to get several stitches and was put on a round of antibiotics.The man who owns the marina said nurse sharks are normally docile but said those sharks could have been feeding, so Zarutskie's exposed fingers and limbs might have been tempting.Despite her scars, the model said she has an even greater respect for nature. "Sharks are wonderful creatures and beautiful, but you really need to respect them in their home - and maybe not lean back."<doc-sep>An Instagram model has narrowly avoided serious injury after her forearm was bitten and dragged by a shark in the Bahamas. Katarina Zarutskie was vacationing on Staniel Cay, one of the islands in the tropical region, and decided to go swimming with nurse sharks—which are mostly harmless. While floating on her back with her arms stretched out, one shark bit down onto an arm and pulled the 19-year-old underwater. Zarutskie's boyfriend's father was snapping photos of her at the time and managed to capture the moment she was dragged under by the five-foot shark. Zarutskie was able to break free and swim to the shore. She held her bleeding arm out of the water to avoid attracting more sharks. Speaking to NBC News on Monday, Zarutskie said she had heard from locals that swimming with nurse sharks was risk free. "My boyfriend's family was freaking out when I went to swim with the sharks and I was like, 'It's fine,'" Zarutskie said. She jumped into the water on her own, without any sort of tour guide. "He had my wrist in his mouth and I could feel his teeth sinking into my arm. I was pulled underwater for a few seconds and then ripped my wrist out of the shark's mouth as fast as I could." The University of Miami student visited a local clinic following the incident, but decided to fly back to Florida the next day after learning shark bites carry a high risk of infection. "[The doctors] now believe that I still have pieces of the shark teeth in my arm and I will forever have a scar," she said, slightly concerned for her modeling career. Zarutskie knows it could have been worse. "I am so fortunate that I still have my arm and my life." Zarutskie did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Earlier this month, a woman on vacation in Dugong Bay, Australia, experienced a similar ordeal with a tawny nurse shark. While feeding a small group, Melissa Brunning was dragged into the water by her finger before breaking free. She was convinced the shark had ripped her finger off. "It happened so quickly," Brunning told 7 News. "All I could really focus on was the fact that my finger is gone. It clamped on it and it felt like it was shredding off the bone. I came up and I was like, 'I've lost my finger.' I couldn't even look at the finger because I thought if I looked at it and saw it again, I'd probably go into shock." Brunning tried to continue her vacation after receiving treatment, but a serious infection required her to return to Perth for surgery.<doc-sep>
Katarina Zarutskie was floating calmly in the ocean off the Bahamas' Staniel Cay when she suddenly felt her arm being yanked down. Zarutskie, a 19-year-old nursing student and Instagram model from Laguna Beach, California, had been swimming with nurse sharks when one bit her arm and started to drag her under the water last month. Her boyfriend's father took several photos throughout the attack, capturing the exact moment that Zarutskie came in contact with the 5-foot-long shark. A 5-foot shark swam up to Katarina Zarutskie and bit down on her wrist before pulling her underwater. Tom Bates "He had my wrist in his mouth and I could feel his teeth sinking into my arm," Zarutskie told NBC News on Monday. "I was pulled underwater for a few seconds and then ripped my wrist out of the shark’s mouth as fast as I could." When she got free of the shark's bite, she swam to some steps — holding her bleeding arm out of the water to not tempt more sharks — and got out of the ocean. Katarina Zarutskie's arm after it was treated by doctors in Florida. Tom Bates Zarutskie, who attends the University of Miami, had been on vacation with her boyfriend and his family and had heard from locals that swimming with nurse sharks was a fun and safe activity. She did not swim with the sharks through a tour company or any organization that required payment, but, having grown up as a surfer in Southern California, she said she was not afraid to jump in the water near a marina. "My boyfriend’s family was freaking out when I went to swim with the sharks and I was like, 'it’s fine,'" she said. According to David Hocher, who owns Staniel Cay marina, people do get bitten from time to time while around the sharks. "These animals are considered quite docile but can and do bite on occasion," Hocher wrote in an email. "Normally when they mistake a hand or fingers for a piece of food." Hocher sent NBC News a picture of a sign at the marina that warns guests that nurse sharks "can and do bite" and that visitors must "swim with the sharks at your own risk" — but Zarutskie said she did not see the sign. A sign showiing Staniel Cay's policy for swimming with nurse sharks. Staniel Cay Marina Hocher also wrote that from the photos of the incident, it appeared that Zarutskie was in the water during feeding time and that having her arms outstretched and fingers exposed would have been tempting for the sharks. Immediately after getting out of the water, Zarutskie went to a clinic at the marina and had her wound cleaned and wrapped. But after doing some research and learning of the high risk of infection following a shark bite, Zarutskie decided to fly back to Florida the next day for further treatment. Model and nursing student, Katarina Zarutskie, basking in the waters of Staniel Cay in the Bahamas surrounded by sharks. Tom Bates "[The doctors] now believe that I still have pieces of the shark teeth in my arm and I will forever have a scar," said Zarutskie, who noted she was worried about the injury affecting her burgeoning modeling career. But, she added, "I am so fortunate that I still have my arm and my life."