Even before the era of pornstars doing viral videos, sharks got a bad press. Now it’s even more important to defend these greatly misunderstood animals.
Shark experts are calling bullshit on a recent video (below) that appears to show a lemon shark biting the foot of webcam model Molly Cavalli during an underwater broadcast off the coast of Florida.
The video "Shark Attack – Cam Girl Bitten off Florida Coast" by webcam modeling site CamSoda has been viewed over 15 million times since it was uploaded last week, claiming that their “underwater broadcast had to be cut short when Molly’s foot stuck out of the cage and was bitten by a lemon shark… She had to get 20 stitches but she is in good spirits and grateful for her quick recovery.” Cavalli also posted an Instaphoto photo the saying: "I'm totally fine. It's not as bad as it seems. Im healing quickly."
Blood, sex, and sharks make for sensational viral videos. But what do the experts think? Marine biologist George Burgess conclusively told the Palm Beach Post: “I can tell you for a fact, it was not a shark bite… It was a PR stunt, and it worked.”
Adding further salt to the wound, Bryce Rohrer – owner and operator of Florida Shark Diving – told RealClearLife and the Palm Beach Post that he had been propositioned by CamSoda two months ago to do a photoshoot featuring a fake shark bite with the hopes of going “viral.” She reportedly even sent him a photograph of what the wound would look like with special effect makeup.
“We immediately declined,” Rohrer told the Palm Beach Post. “We are pro-shark, pro-wildlife, and want to show the importance of sharks, not villainize them.”
The description on the YouTube video also features a nice little plug for CamSoda’s new hardware: “First pioneered with POV guy, Camsoda has been working on a mobile hardware solution that allows models to broadcast from anywhere in the world. The custom built hardware was recently upgraded to support go-pro cameras and underwater live feeds.”
Of course, it doesn’t help the case that they didn’t actually film the shark biting Cavalli's foot, just a lot of shots of the bloody injury and her barely-there swimsuit. In terms of authenticity, it's fair to say the jury is out on this one.
Above all, remember that shark attacks are actually really rare. A recent study by the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File said there were just 81 unprovoked attacks worldwide in 2016, with just four of them being fatal.
CamSoda had not yet returned a request for comment from IFLScience.
