Texas teen bitten by barracuda in popular vacation spot after bracelet glints in water

A Texas teen is recovering aft being bitten by a barracuda portion vacationing successful Turks and Caicos.

Sugar Land nonmigratory Claire Macdonel, 13, was swimming successful shallow h2o erstwhile the food spot her manus connected Sunday, July 19.

The teen was wearing a shiny bracelet connected 1 of her wrists — which apt reflected airy and was mistaken by the barracuda for prey. 

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Jen Macdonel, Claire Macdonel's mother, told Fox News Digital that the barracuda onslaught lacerated 4 of her daughter's tendons, successful summation to a nervus and a ligament. The miss had country connected Wednesday. 

"She could person easy mislaid her full manus oregon fingers oregon worse," said Jen Macdonel. 

Claire Macdonel, 13, of Texas was doing handstands successful the h2o during a abrogation successful Turks and Caicos erstwhile a barracuda was seemingly attracted to the reflective items she was wearing — and moved in. (Jen Macdonel)

The teen was doing handstands erstwhile a barracuda was apt attracted to the reflective items she was wearing, mistaking them for prey.

"You know, you're doing handstands against achromatic sand, wide water, the prima hits that — she astir apt conscionable looked similar a disco ball," Jen Macdonel said.

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Photos shared by the household amusement Claire Macdonel's manus covered successful cuts and puncture wounds soon aft the bite. She wore a formed afterward arsenic her wounds healed.

Claire Macdonel told Fox News Digital, "I conscionable felt a batch of pressure. And past I went up. I saw my manus bleeding a lot, and I said, 'Mom, thing spot me. I don't cognize what to do.'"

The teen's manus is shown successful some images during her infirmary treatment. Claire Macdonel encourages others to region immoderate jewelry earlier entering the water. (Jen Macdonel)

"I looked down maine and saw a large metallic tail. ... I was precise scared," she told FOX 26 Houston.

"I was conscionable anxious, like, I was crying the full time," she said. 

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A caregiver who had been successful the h2o adjacent — an "angel," arsenic the teen described her — saw the commotion and rushed over. The pistillate applied a tourniquet to Claire Macdonel's injured manus portion the girl's parent worked hard to recognize what had conscionable happened. 

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The caregiver "really saved the day," Jen Macdonel told Fox News Digital.

"I was successful shock, really … I conscionable benignant of had an out-of-body acquisition wherever I knew I had to enactment calm. Your ma instincts footwear in," she said. 

Claire Macdonel is inactive recovering from country aft the barracuda attack. (Jen Macdonel )

"I was precise acrophobic of however overmuch humor she was losing during each of that time. I didn't cognize if she was going to suffer her manus oregon her fingers oregon worse," the parent said.

She said she was trying not to panic, but it was a struggle.

"I was perpetually looking for signs of infection," Jen Macdonel said.

"I was precise acrophobic of however overmuch humor she was losing."

She told Fox News Digital her girl hopes to dispersed consciousness astir what could hap to others successful the water, besides emphasizing that the barracuda onslaught hasn't diminished her daughter's emotion of the water.

"She's already readying our adjacent travel truthful we tin person a redo due to the fact that we emotion the island, and she loves the water," Jen Macdonel said. 

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"Ever since I got this bite, it has really made maine privation to observe the water adjacent much ... I'm adjacent much funny astir what's wrong the water and what behaviour it has," Claire Macdonel told Fox News Digital.

"I've ever loved marine life, adjacent if it's scary fish. I've ever been funny astir them."

A barracuda, pictured above. "The main happening is I would debar wearing thing reflective similar jewelry," an adept said astir swimming successful the ocean. (Kurt Amsler/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Her ma added, "Something terrifying happened. It was unfortunate, but it is rare, and we don't privation to make fearfulness for the water due to the fact that she got close backmost successful the ocean."

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Barracudas "stay inactive and hold for prey to aquatics past," said Yannis Papastamatiou, an subordinate prof successful biologic sciences astatine Florida International University.

Papastamatiou told Fox News Digital that barracudas respond "immediately" to thing they comprehend arsenic prey, though attacks connected humans are precise rare.

"For the astir part, we are intelligibly overmuch excessively ample to beryllium considered prey," helium said. "But if you are wearing thing shiny, they whitethorn comprehend that arsenic the question of a smaller food and respond."

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"The main happening is I would debar wearing thing reflective similar jewelry," Papastamatiou added. 

"If you bash spot a barracuda, past conscionable debar making abrupt movements. Remember their imaginativeness is not bully similar ours, and they whitethorn deliberation your manus is tiny prey. Barracuda bites are really precise rare."

The incidental occurred arsenic Turks and Caicos remains nether a U.S. State Department Level 2 question advisory for unrelated information concerns. (iStock)

The incidental came conscionable weeks aft Turks and Caicos made planetary headlines for a antithetic reason.

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Earlier this summer, the U.S. State Department renewed its Level 2 "Exercise Increased Caution" question advisory for the Caribbean destination, citing reports of assaults, petty transgression and scams targeting tourists.