Eel Makes Meal Of Diver’s Digit

[george]

Eel makes meal of diver’s digit

PHUKET: -- A 32-year-old Briton is recovering in hospital here after his left thumb was bitten off and eaten by a giant moray eel while he was diving at the well-known East of Eden dive site in the Similan Islands.

Matt Butcher, of Stanstead, Essex, said he had fed the 2.2-meter eel regularly over the past 18 months, and that she was well-known in the diving community for her friendliness.

“Many people dive there to see her,” he said from his bed at Bangkok Phuket Hospital. “She will swim in between your legs or curl herself around your arms. Divers often feed her scraps of food taken from their liveaboard boats. She likes sausages and will even eat fruit.”

Mr Butcher told the Gazette how, on April 18, he and his buddy, 21-year-old Becks Herbert, from Norwich in England, had descended to around 14 meters with some food for the eel.

He said, “I’ve been feeding the eel for 18 months and nothing seemed differ ent on this occasion. She seemed quite playful, and was playing with Becks, while I took the food – a sausage wrapped in a plastic bag – from the pocket of my BCD vest and threw it to her.”

Mr Butcher said the eel (Strophidon sathete) circled round behind him and latched onto the thumb of his left hand, which was still holding the bag.

“I couldn’t get my thumb out of her mouth once she had started biting. The teeth of a moray are angled backward so she got a better grip [on my thumb] every time she bit down,” he said.

“I tried pushing the fingers of my right hand into her mouth to try and force her mouth open but she did not let go; she could taste blood by then…

“She was shaking her head from side to side, biting harder all the time. Five seconds later, my thumb just came off.

“She ate it and swam away. I didn’t even have time to reach for my knife.”

Mr Butcher and Ms Herbert surfaced and returned to their dive boat, the M V Queen Scuba.

He received first aid from Royal Thai Navy (RTN) personnel at Similan 9 Island before National Park staff took him by speedboat to Tab Lamu, whence he was transferred to Phuket.

Mr Butcher praised everyone involved in rescuing him. “They were great, everyone from the crew on board the Queen Scuba to the RTN, the park rangers and the hospital. They all knew exactly what they were doing.”

Mr Butcher, who is right-handed, has been told that surgeons may be able to transplant one of his big toes to replace his thumb.

He said that he will continue diving – although he will no longer feed eels.

He added, “I was wearing shorts during this dive, and I’m just glad that the thing didn’t swim up one of the legs and bite something else.”

--Phuket Gazette 2005-04-20

[The_Moog]

How do you say that in Thai?

"An eel has bitten off my finger"

I can't find it in my phrasebook.

[britmaveric]

Hmmm shoving food inside an eels mouth? That has to be the silliest thing I have read all day. I guess someone will hand feed a shark now!!!

[Abandon]

There was that story a few months back of a tourist feeding an elephant direct to its mouth (which is what I have done before too) and he had a couple of fingers bitten off.

[fxm88]

What does his tattoo say?

Video here: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/457081/anima...eats_his_thumb/

[adad]

Hmmm shoving food inside an eels mouth? That has to be the silliest thing I have read all day. I guess someone will hand feed a shark now!!!

Hand feeding sharks is rare, but not impossible - some crazy folks do it regularly in one of the french polynesian islands [moorea, tahiti]. IIRC, in the bahamas too.

Hand-feeding morays are silly, you're right. Problem is not its agressiveness, they are normally cuddly - morays are known to have very poor eyesight - your thumb is just another piece of food - especially after chomping down a few sausages !

Despite that, many still do it. Moray bites are a common occurence in the scuba world, but rarely unprovoked ... I'm just appalled that that liveaboard boat would allow such marine life interaction.

All I can say is, som !

Edited March 10, 2007 by adad

[Dupont]

What does his tattoo say?

Video here: http://www.metacafe.com/watch/457081/anima...eats_his_thumb/

live in heart me forever.

[h90]

Hmmm shoving food inside an eels mouth? That has to be the silliest thing I have read all day. I guess someone will hand feed a shark now!!!

Hand feeding sharks is rare, but not impossible - some crazy folks do it regularly in one of the french polynesian islands [moorea, tahiti]. IIRC, in the bahamas too.

Hand-feeding morays are silly, you're right. Problem is not its agressiveness, they are normally cuddly - morays are known to have very poor eyesight - your thumb is just another piece of food - especially after chomping down a few sausages !

Despite that, many still do it. Moray bites are a common occurence in the scuba world, but rarely unprovoked ... I'm just appalled that that liveaboard boat would allow such marine life interaction.

All I can say is, som !

At the darwin award page is also somewhere a lady feeding sharks, while being in the water because she thought that are dolphins.

Same same but different.

[Maejo Man]

Having watched the video, it gives a whole new dimension to "ET Phone home"

[bkkmadness]

Having watched the video, it gives a whole new dimension to "ET Phone home"

The video was of a Moray Eel in the Similan Islands, this is an old thread. You can tell by the posters on it that have been banned.

[gharknes]

sorry repeat link

Edited March 10, 2007 by gharknes

[seonai]

Sausages..... a wild eel....... what did he expect for goodness sake????!!!!!!!

[Kimera]

He's right about the other thing