Giant Fish Attacks Mermaid Performer in Front of Live Audience in Shocking Incident: ‘Pretend to Be a Fish, I’m Gonna Treat You Like One!’

In harrowing footage released earlier today, a young “mermaid” performer was mauled by a giant fish in an aquarium in front of a live audience. The shocking incident took place in Xishuangbanna Primitive Forest Park in China, where the 22-year-old Russian woman was performing a routine show dressed as a mermaid and swimming with other fish in a giant marine exhibit. The giant fish locked its jaws around the performer’s head for a few moments, though thankfully, the woman broke free of its grip and managed to swim safely to the surface.

The 6-second clip is recorded from the perspective of one of the onlookers who is watching the show, and opens with the mermaid floating and moving in rhythm to the music in the background. The performer sports a blue fish tail and shiny bikini and can be seen waving at the audience members on the side of the glass tank. Just to the mermaid’s left side is a large fish swimming slowly behind her. Shockingly, as the fish gets closer, it suddenly bites onto the woman’s head, engulfing the entirety of her head and neck.

Clearly, this is not part of the performance, as cries from the audience can be heard. Fortunately, the woman manages to wriggle free of the fish’s bite and quickly swims up to the surface to safety, where the clip comes to an end.

Reactions to the startling footage have come in thick and fast as the clip continues to gain momentum across social media. A commenter on Reddit wrote,

Another netizen quipped: ““Eww gross I got hair in my mouth”“

Related: 27-Year-Old Mississippi Man Realises He’s the Last Surviving Member of His Family in Emotional Clip: ‘If Anything Were to Happen to Me Today, Not a Single Person On This Earth Would Know I Was Gone’

The 22-year-old Russian performer, who’s name is known as Masha, sustained an injury to her neck, left eye, and head, and the giant creature managed to eat her goggles and nose clips. According to reports from The Mirror, the victim of the attack was offered $96 in “moral damages”, but was not allowed to talk about the incident publicly in a bid from the management of Xishuangbanna Primitive Forest Park to “cover up” what happened. It’s still unclear what species of fish attacked the woman, though some reports are referring to it as a Chinese white sturgeon.