A Florida man who pulled a shark from the ocean received a nasty reward as the huge fish viciously attacked him while he posed for photos. 

A thrilling video captured the intense moment a lemon shark, which a group of men had caught, suddenly turned its head and attempted to bite its captor’s leg. 

Shawn Meuse and his friends captured the beast on his birthday fishing trip on Cayo Costa on Saturday. 

The group of men pulled it onto the beach, illuminated by their head torches, before posing for pictures.

‘Good job buddy,’ a friend could be heard saying, just seconds before disaster struck.

As he held the shark’s head up from the sand, and a friend picked up the beast’s tail, it spun around to sink its teeth into Meuse’s leg. 

He screamed in pain as other members of the group started panicking. 

‘Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,’ one exclaimed. 

Shawn Meuse and his friends captured the beast on his birthday fishing trip on Cayo Costa, Florida, on Saturday

As he held the shark’s head up from the sand, and a friend picked up the beast’s tail, it spun around to sink its teeth into Meuse’s leg

The shark thrashed around in the incoming waves as the camera panned to Meuse, who was sat on the sand with his injured leg covered in blood. 

‘You don’t know what a wild animal is going to do, you know? So that happens, we’re in his territory during this,’ Meuse told ABC News.

Emergency personnel were called to the scene shortly before 11pm, as stated by the Boca Grande fire chief. The injured individual, Meuse, received immediate treatment on-site before being flown to Gulf Coast Medical. 

Users on social media slammed Meuse for catching the predator.

‘Play stupid games… win stupid prizes,’ one user commented. 

‘Should’ve put him back in water instead of trying to pose for a selfie… just saying,’ another wrote. 

‘He’s trying to take a pic like it’s an alligator.’

‘I mean… it’s a shark… they bite. I’m just glad he found this out without losing his whole leg,’ one said. 

One user said: ‘Maybe leave the shark alone next time. Human had it coming.’ 

The shark thrashed around in the incoming waves. Emergency crews responded to the scene and Meuse was airlifted to Gulf Coast Medical Center

Meuse, however, said he was lucky to have escaped the incident without too much injury and was scheduled for surgery on his leg on Tuesday

Meuse admitted to ABC News that, while he was not the one to have caught the shark, he hadn’t got a permit. 

But he claimed he ‘wasn’t fishing, I just took it off the hook.’

Lemon sharks are a protected species in Florida, with only a few reported incidents of non-fatal bites, as noted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. 

Naturalist Rob Howell commented to the outlet: ‘That shark was eager to return to the water quickly. It was distressed and frightened, and many people fail to show these animals the respect they deserve, which was clearly lacking in that video.’

Meuse, however, said he was lucky to have escaped the incident without too much injury and was scheduled for surgery on his leg on Tuesday.

‘I’m unlucky or lucky at the same time? Because, you know, if it was a few inches one way, you know, I might not be here,’ he continued. 

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the incident.