Surfer Gets Bitten By Shark - Goes To Bar Instead Of Hospital

***WARNING: BLOODY SHARK BITE ELBOW BELOW***

Getting bitten by a shark isn't really on anyone's to do list. That said, if you do get attacked by a shark and live to tell the tale, then you're damn sure going to tell that tale.

However, a professional surfer in the US proved a little too keen to show off his wounds, choosing the bar over the hospital after being chewed on by one of the fearsome predators.

Frank O'Rourke was surfing near the pier at Jacksonville Beach in Florida at around 3:30pm on Saturday when he was bitten on the elbow by a shark.

Grainy footage shows the 23-year-old struggling against the fish, which knocked him off his board. Fortunately, he was able to get free and return to the shore to inspect his wound - before immediately heading to a bar to show it off to gobsmacked drinkers.

RJ Berger - his friend who was with O'Rourke at the time - said he thought the shark was probably a three to four foot spinner or blacktip shark and, quite naturally, they initially panicked.

Speaking to WJXT, he said: "It was kind of panic, like, 'Did that just happen?'

"It kind of took him a couple seconds to gather himself and realise, 'Wow, I just got bit by a shark'."

However, this state of panic didn't seem to last too long after O'Rourke made it back to land.

WJXT

Berger said: "He immediately went to a bar 'cause he was like, 'I got bit by a shark,' and people were like, 'I'll buy you drinks.' So he went and hung out at the pier."

Berger added that his buddy could have probably done with a stitch or two, but why have a painful needle pierced through your flesh when there are free drinks going?

Well, I suppose because stitches would have helped the wound heal and prevented infection - but hey, I think we can all understand where O'Rourke's coming from.

In the grand scheme of things though, the surfer can consider himself lucky to have come away from the attack with nothing more than a little elbow damage.

Indeed, National Geographic WILD's new show Cannibal Sharks reveals just how much damage bigger sharks can do. The programme revealed images of huge sharks almost bitten in two by each other, illuminating the ferocious power of the predators.

SWNS

All things considered, it seems fair enough that O'Rourke felt the need for a drink or two after his own shark encounter.

Topics: US News, Alcohol, Animals

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey