Hawaiian surfer says he BEAR-HUGGED shark to survive horror attack that cost him his foot

A Hawaiian surfer who lost his foot in a shark attack has described how he punched and swore at the predator in order to survive.    

Mike Morita, 58, said he is grateful to be alive after the terrifying encounter near Kewalo Basin off the coast of Honolulu.  

Morita told KHON 2 he was dragged under the waves by the shark, which officials reported was an eight-foot tiger shark, and the water was ‘red’ with his blood.

He said he slipped his arm around the shark like a ‘bear hug’ and reached for its gills which caused it to let him go and he was able to get away. 

Despite his lucky escape, doctors were forced to amputate Morita’s right foot. 

Morita said he is ‘grateful to be alive’ after losing his foot in the attack 

Morita has described how he punched and swore at the predator in order to survive

Seasoned surfer Morita, who works as a ramp serviceman for United Airlines, planned to get in a few waves before going to an Easter service on April 9 when he was attacked shortly before 7 a.m. 

He said the water was ‘crystal clear’ and he was lying on his stomach on his board when he felt a bite on his right leg. 

He told KOHN 2 from his hospital bed: ‘The sheer strength of it, I knew right away it was a shark. In that critical moment, I went to God.’

‘God wanted me to fight, so I started beefing,’ he said, using a Hawaii Pidgin term for fighting.

He said he repeatedly punched and swore at the animal in a desperate attempt to break free – which got the attention of other surfers nearby.

The creature pulled Morita underwater and began shaking him back and forth, and he remembered slipping his arm around the shark.

‘I wrapped my arm around it and my body around it. And at that point I was trying to go for the eyes but my hand ended up by the gills. So as soon as I touched by the gills it let go,’ he said.  

He added he couldn’t believe the courage of his friends who rushed to help him despite potentially putting themselves in danger. 

‘The water was red – with my blood. They said when they reached me, the shark was still on me, so they were scared for their lives too but when it finally let go, they were there for me. They were in shock also.’ 

The other surfers used their board leashes to make a tourniquet and got Morita safely back to shore. 

He said that at one point he looked back and saw only bone from ankle to knee on his right leg. Paramedics later told him without the tourniquet, he would have bled to death.

According to the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, the last time a shark attack was reported in the area was in 2002. 

Tiger sharks are understood to be the second most dangerous shark in the world behind the great white. 

Morita spoke about the ordeal from his hospital bed where he is receiving treatment

Morita could have died from the attack, officials said

The attack occured near Kewalo Basin off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii

Doctors had to amputate his right foot, and Morita will have to undergo another surgery.  

A GoFundMe page established to cover medical expenses has already raised over $78,000. 

Despite this, he said he is ‘at peace’ and hopes to get back on the board again one day. 

‘The doctors are telling me that it’s up to me. Yes I’d like to surf again but if I never surf again I’m still happy, I’ll be alright,’ he said. ‘I’m so thankful to be alive. That’s my message.’

Morita’s son Kamu told Hawaii News Now: ‘Somehow after he was getting tossed around, he kind of came face-to-face with (the shark) with his foot still in its mouth and he was able to kind of bear hug it and dig the gills and eyes and that’s really when it finally let go.’

He added he was thankful for the other surfers who helped save his father’s life.   

According to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) at the University of Florida, ‘Unprovoked bites’ are defined as incidents in which a bite on a live human occurs in the shark’s natural habitat with no human provocation of the shark. 

Meanwhile, ‘Provoked bites’ occur when a human initiates interaction with a shark in some way.

The U.S. reported the most unprovoked shark attacks in the world last year, according to the document.

Of the 41 cases, Florida had the most incidents, at 16, while only one ended in death, in Hawaii.