Sharks are popularly considered to be the most dangerous sea creatures, but perhaps there is another animal we should be careful of! A bloody case from Florida proves that sailfish can also be dangerous to humans under certain circumstances.
Katherine Perkins had to experience this painfully on her own body last week. As the Guardian reported, the American was on a fishing trip off the Florida coast when she was suddenly attacked by a predatory fish.
A few miles offshore, Perkins suddenly had a large sailfish on his line. But he didn’t want to be caught at all. Instead, the animal, which weighed almost 50 kilograms, counterattacked!
The fish jumped out of the water in a flash and stabbed the 73-year-old in the groin with its upper jaw « spear », as the Guardian reported, citing the « Martin County Sheriff’s Department ». In fact, sailfish are extremely fast.
It was once believed that they could swim at speeds of up to 110 kilometers per hour, but according to recent studies, it should « only » be up to 45 km/h. After the attack unfolded, the two men immediately began dressing the wound and stopping the blood loss.
Once on shore, Perkins was flown to a hospital. In addition to their distinctive upper jaw, sailfish can be recognized by their eponymous dorsal fin, which sticks out of the water when the animals swim near the surface.
When hunting, the predatory fish are not very enduring, but proceed with all the greater strength, as Katherine Perkins now had to experience firsthand.
