The ocean is filled up with all sorts of crazy and terrifying creatures. Despite the fact that water covers almost 70 percent of our planet’s surface, we have still only been able to discover less than five percent of the mysteries that it holds. The moment you decide to enter the water, you’re basically entering the territory of creatures that are far more dangerous and deadly than you can imagine.

Some of these threats are quite well known such as sharks which are responsible for causing a number of injuries and deaths each year. Other, much smaller creatures such as the extremely venomous box jellyfish also pose a threat which is why it is important to be aware of the water before jumping in for a swim. While some of these attacks can be unprovoked, most of them simply occur because of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. To prove that the creatures of the sea can be just as dangerous as those on the land, we have compiled a list of some of the worst sea animal attacks ever recorded.

15. Australian Teen Gets Attacked By Sea Fleas

When thinking about some of the scary attacks by sea animals, sea fleas are the last thing that comes to mind. This wasn’t the case, however, for the Australian teenager Sam Kanizay who went for a swim after a game of football. He soon felt as if he had sand on his legs and upon emerging out of the water, his family noticed that he was bleeding severely from his legs. He was rushed to the hospital where doctors were successful in stopping the blood. While the initial culprits were thought to be sea lice, a form of aquatic parasite, it later turned out that these were sea fleas which had decided to make a meal out of Kanizay’s legs.

14. Piranhas Injure Dozens Of Swimmers In Brazil

Piranhas have a very fierce reputation, sometimes even more than the shark and are sometimes known as the perfect predators in the water. Their notoriety has been made worse by Hollywood over the years but the fact still exists that these creatures are not be messed around with. Back in 2016, tragedy struck Brazil when more than 50 swimmers were attacked by shoals of piranha over a course of one year. The main cause of this has been attributed as drought which has forced these predators to move into much deeper waters and where people usually like to swim. Chunks of flesh were bitten out of the arms and legs of most victims and permanent scars were left for most of them.

13. Orca Kills Trainer At Sea World

Keeping wild animals in captivity is a pretty bad idea since most of these creatures will always resort to their natural instincts whenever given the opportunity. February 24, 2010, would prove to be an unfortunate day for Dawn Brancheau, an orca trainer at SeaWorld who was attacked by a killer whale named Tilikum during a live show. Many people witnessed her death and it was one of the most unfortunate events in the park’s history. The whale had apparently grabbed her by the ponytail and then dragged her to the bottom of the pool, drowning her and resulting in the death of Brancheau.

12. Rodney Fox Gets Attacked By Great White Shark

One of the most ferocious predators of the sea is none other than the great white shark. It has been the subject of numerous films such as the famous Jaws and rightfully so since they can pose a great threat in water. Numerous shark attacks happen throughout the world but Rodney Fox was one of the fortunate people who have survived the horrifying attack and lived to tell the tale. Fox was injured so badly that rescuers had to keep his wetsuit on so that his organs wouldn’t fall out. The surgery lasted almost 4 hours and resulted in 450 stitches. Later, Fox went on to develop the first shark observation cage and helped numerous researchers gather data on the great white sharks.

11. Ian Redmond Is Killed Days After His Marriage

Since sharks are the reason behind most attacks on humans in the water, they have been given quite a few spots on this list. This time, the unfortunate victim was Ian Redmon, a 30-year-old man who was attacked by a six-foot shark while on a honeymoon trip with his wife. Redmond decided to take a dip in the water while the wife sunbathed on the Anse Lazio beach in Seychelles. This is when he was attacked and the shark managed to tear off one of his arms and a leg. A rescue boat was brought to save Redmond but he couldn’t survive such a huge injury and bled to death. The sad part is that the whole incident could’ve been avoided if the beach had been closed since another death from a shark attack had occurred just two weeks earlier.

10. The Incident Of USS Indianapolis

The USS Indianapolis was tasked with delivering the first ever operational nuclear device to an island named Tinian. After this trip, the ship was ordered to move to the Leyte Gulf near the Philippines to join the preparations for the invasion of Japan. Unfortunately, it was intercepted and sunk by a Japanese submarine on the way. Out of the total crew of 1,196 on board, almost 300 drowned with the ship while the remaining 900 were left to survive in the ocean. This is where things got worse as shoals of sharks decided to show up and started attacking the sailors one by one. By the time that help finally arrived, almost 600 men had become shark food.

9. Yacht Attacked By A Giant Squid

The ocean is home to some of the craziest creatures on the planet. There is still so much that we do not know about them. One of the biggest rivalries that you might’ve read about is that of the whale and the giant squid. These creatures can grow up to be over 13 meters in length with long tentacles and a beak. During the Jules Verne Trophy competition in 2003, a giant squid decided to attack a yacht as it was departing France. Apparently, the creature had latched onto the rudder, rendering it unusable. The crew had to stop the boat and wait for the creature to lose interest before moving on.

8. Steve Irwin Is Fatally Stabbed By Stingray

Anyone who grew up watching Animal Planet will be familiar with the name Steve Irwin. Also famously known as the crocodile hunter, Irwin was known for many of the stunts that he used to perform with dangerous animals. Unfortunately, one of these animals would eventually be responsible for the death of Steve Irwin. During a regular filming for his documentary, Irwin came across an eight-foot wide stingray. It is assumed that the creature mistook Irwin’s shadow with that of a tiger shark, one of the natural predators of stingrays, resulting in an attack with its barbed tail which pierced through Irwin’s heart. The excessive bleeding resulted in his death before he could be transferred to a hospital.

7. Surfer Hans Kretschmer Is Attacked By Killer Whale

Killer whale attacks on humans have been frequently documented when in captivity but the occurrence of these in the wild was relatively unknown up until the point when a surfer by the name of Hans Kretschmer was attacked by an orca in the wild. He was out surfing at Point Sur in September of 1972 when he was attacked by a killer whale. Luckily, Kretschmer was able to swim away but the injuries required well over 100 stitches. This attack remains as one of the only well-documented instances of an orca attack on humans in the wild.

6. Divers Attacked By Humboldt Squid

Out of the different species of Squid that inhabit the oceans around the world, the Humboldt squid is the only one that carries a reputation for behaving aggressively towards humans, especially during feeding times which makes a lot of sense. There have been many incidents of divers being attacked nu Humboldt squids and this has resulted in the creation of a wetsuit that also includes body armor to protect the diver from such attacks. There are also documented cases of the squid attacking remotely operated cameras or submersibles in the water. This is enough evidence to highlight the aggression of these species which proves that they’re not something to be messed around with.

5. German Woman Dies From Box Jellyfish Stings

The most venomous creature on this planet is not a spider and it is not a snake either. This title goes to the one and only box jellyfish. You might’ve read about it on the internet but just in case that you haven’t, these creatures are capable of killing an adult human within minutes. The same tragedy ended up happening to a 20-year-old German woman who was on a trip to a Thai resort. She was stung multiple times after getting entangled in the venomous tentacles during a swim. This was recorded as the third fatality in a single year which was a result of a jellyfish sting.

4. The Death Of Shirley Ann Durdin

Great white sharks pose a very real threat especially in the waters around Australia. Around 536 confirmed attacks have been recorded in the region with the most recent fatal attack occurring in 2017. Out of the list of people who have suffered fatal shark attacks, the case of Shirley Ann Durdin was probably the most horrifying. She was out diving for scallops in the Peake Bay area when was attacked by what was said to be a great white shark. Her husband and 4 children watched from the shore in horror as the shark tore chunks off her body. By the time that rescuers arrived, all that remained was a headless torso.

3. Shark Attacks Along The Coast Of New Jersey

During the intense heat wave of 1916, the coastline of New Jersey became home to a new threat, a group of sharks which was responsible for a number of attacks over the period of a few weeks. The first victim was a 25-year-old man named Charles Vansant who was attacked during an evening swim. He suffered serious thigh injuries and later bled to death. A second man, Charles Bruder was killed only a few days later in another attack. This wasn’t all, however, as three more attacks occurred only a week later which resulted in one of the worst shark attack sprees recorded throughout history.

2. The Death Of Terrence Manuel

Back in 1974, 26-year-old Terrence Manuel became an unfortunate victim of a major shark attack. What started out as a normal day with Manuel diving for sea snails quickly turned bloody when a great white shark appeared and attacked him. According to his friend John Talbot, Manuel surfaced from the water while yelling “Shark!” and his right leg had been severely injured. Talbot made all the efforts to rescue his friend and save his life but he was unable to do so and watched as Manuel bled to death. The goes on to show that one can never be too careful when going for a swim and it is very difficult to predict when a shark might attack.

1. The Attack On Brook Watson

Brook Watson takes the title for being the first ever recorded victim of a shark attack. He was a British merchant and sailor at the age of fourteen and would travel around the world with his crewmates. He was attacked by a shark during a swim in the harbor of Havana. Luckily for him, his friends saw the attack and dragged him out of the water to deliver medical aid. Despite having to get his leg amputated, Watson remained strong as ever and served as the member of the Parliament for nine years before being selected as the Lord Mayor of the city of London.