A nurse shark bit a woman this afternoon as she lounged on a sandbar in Biscayne National Park, in South Miami-Dade County.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials described the woman's injury as an "extensive shark bite" but said the wound is not life-threatening.
The woman told paramedics that while in the water about 3:45 p.m. she felt something bump her leg and when she looked down she realized she had been attacked by a nurse shark.
A boater took the injured woman to Homestead Bayfront Park Marina, where she was met by paramedics who treated her and took her to a local hospital.
Nurse sharks are considered to be the most common shark species found off Florida's coast.
Researchers at the University of Florida issued a report in February that said shark attacks reported in the U. S. dropped from 50 in 2007 to 41 in 2008. Of last year's cases, 32 were in Florida.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials described the woman's injury as an "extensive shark bite" but said the wound is not life-threatening.
The woman told paramedics that while in the water about 3:45 p.m. she felt something bump her leg and when she looked down she realized she had been attacked by a nurse shark.
A boater took the injured woman to Homestead Bayfront Park Marina, where she was met by paramedics who treated her and took her to a local hospital.
Nurse sharks are considered to be the most common shark species found off Florida's coast.
Researchers at the University of Florida issued a report in February that said shark attacks reported in the U. S. dropped from 50 in 2007 to 41 in 2008. Of last year's cases, 32 were in Florida.
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