Shark Week hits the airwaves every summer on Discovery, usually delivering big ratings for the network and luring viewers from all over. The week of shark-filled programming tends to fill fans with a combination of fear, dread, and respect for the most dangerous predators of the sea, but a brand new special proved that there is a whole other species to keep an eye out for in the ocean: crocodiles. A marine biologist was bitten by an American crocodile in the Cuba's Secret Shark Lair special in a Shark Week first. Although biologist Melissa Marquez survived with relatively minor injuries, it was a terrifying sequence on the small screen, and Shark Week fans on Twitter are freaking out. Take a look!
A prevailing opinion online seems to be that going on a revolutionary trip to the largely unexplored waters around Cuba to search for a legendary hammerhead shark is acceptable, but a crocodile intruding really takes the danger over the line. There's really no denying that it was incredibly eerie to see a crocodile emerge from the murky water when we're all used to seeing sharks swim out of the depths on Shark Week, and for me, it was way creepier to see the croc swimming from below it than it would have been to see it on the bottom.
Another popular opinion is that seeing a croc during a night dive in Cuba is the dealbreaker moment for a lot of people. The crocodile would have sent plenty of people swimming to the surface and frantically splashing toward the boat, but not Melissa Marquez! Unfortunately, she got a chomp on the leg for her bravery. Still, who knows what would have happened if she'd lost her composure? Way to go, Melissa.
As it happens, however, another Twitter user isn't 100% on Melissa Marquez's side. While this person is surely glad that the biologist survived her terrifying encounter with the croc, he seems to believe that anybody who does something like dive in the dark in waters filled with predators had accepted the risk of a bite.
One guy on Twitter found some similarities between Melissa Marquez's "I don't feel so good" comment just before the footage cut to commercial and Peter Parker's immortal line from Avengers: Infinity War. Fortunately for everybody in real life, Marquez didn't suffer a similar fate to what happened to a whole lot of people in Infinity War.
Other folks on Twitter can see the crocodile's side of the story. Was it cool of the croc to bite the biologist when it's not even a man-eater? No. But surely plenty of species wish they could have had their own week of primetime for the past three decades, right?
One person believes that Melissa Marquez and the croc that bit her deserve the top two places on the list of Shark Week MVPs at this point in the week, with the third spot going to Shaq, who starred in a hilarious episode on the first night of Shark Week. Given how Shaq faced his fears rather than hide from them, I'd say he deserves a spot in the top three. Personally, I rank @ohnogrl as one of the top Twitter users, if only for sharing "its croc week now, bitches" with the world. Indeed.
To see the marks left on Melissa Marquez's leg and some comments from the bitten biologist herself, head on over to the next page!
On the one hand, if you're going to get bitten by a crocodile and then dragged through murky, unfamiliar water at night, you'd probably be grateful if your leg looks as relatively un-maimed as Melissa Marquez's, and Swamp People viewers know that bites from creatures like crocs can lead to very dangerous infections. On the other hand, not getting bitten by a crocodile would undoubtedly have been vastly preferable to Marquez to what actually happened.
Melissa Marquez actually took to Twitter during Cuba's Secret Shark Lair to answer questions and probably assure people on social media that she's alive and well.
Who's traumatized from ever going into the waters of Cuba ever again? Not Melissa Marquez!
It's clear that Melissa Marquez has recovered from her ordeal emotionally as well as physically, even retweeting posts that provide a humorous take on what could have been a life-threatening situation. At least she didn't lose a hand, a la Captain Hook!
Shark Week continues for the rest of the week on Discovery, and even Shark Tank is getting in on the sharky fun. If you're planning on needing some less shark-tastic programming in the coming weeks, swing by our summer TV schedule for some inspiration.
