Harrowing moment man is attacked by shark at aquarium as tank fills with blood

Being poked and prodded at the doctors is hardly a pleasant experience, but we're hardly going to turn round and take a chunk out of our GP in frustration, are we?

Well, when you're a heavily pregnant sand tiger shark, apparently that's the only way to get the message across.

Harrowing footage captured the moment a scuba diver was savaged by the usually docile species at an aquarium in South Africa as he tried to perform medical checks on the fearsome creature.

Take a look at this - but be warned, it is not for the faint-hearted and includes graphic images:

There's a reason we say someone is 'swimming with sharks' when they are operating among dangerous people - and it's got a lot to do with just how menacing the marine animals can be.

The diver, who appeared to be a vet, courageously climbed into the tank at the unknown facility to perform some health checks on the sand tiger shark - which are also known as ragged-tooth sharks due to their pointy, needle-like teeth.

This obviously is no ordinary day at the office, so he was forced to chase the predator through the water as he reportedly attempted to administer a tranquilliser through its fins.

Despite normally being cooperative when it comes to interacting with humans, the shark didn't seem to hold the same sentiment on this occasion and she grew increasingly defensive.

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When the diver finally managed to catch up to the underwater creature, he attempted to straddle it so he could keep it under control while carrying out his work, but he was left wishing he'd have called in sick that day.

The tables turn very quickly and the ragged-tooth makes sure he knows who is boss by spinning around and beginning to tussle with him beneath the surface.

The shocking video, which was filmed back in 2016, shows the bloke being thrashed around by the beast in the water before it sinks its terrifying teeth into him while the tank alarmingly begins to fill with his blood.

He somehow managed to struggle free and rushed to the surface, where the aquarium were waiting to pull him to safety and assess his wounds.

The diver appeared to have sustained a nasty wound to his arm, which was oozing with blood, as well as a bite on his hand as the imprint of the sand tiger shark's large teeth marks were visible in the clip.

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Thankfully, despite the severity of his injuries and his brush with death, he went onto make a full recovery - and headed back into the tank.

Sand tiger sharks do not have a reputation for attacking divers or aggression towards humans and usually spend their days chilling at the bottom of the ocean before hunting at night.

Despite their appearance, they are typically of a docile and placid nature, so experts reckon this pregnant ragged-tooth must have been trying to protect her unborn babies.

This species usually only give birth every second or third year after carrying their offspring for around 12 months.

After a lengthy labour, they welcome baby sand tiger sharks into the world which can be up to 3ft in length, who immediately become fully independent.