Did you know that the author (that’s me!) was actually bitten and dragged by a crocodile, just like Adrianna? I was diving underwater while filming for a TV show about hammerhead sharks in Cuba.

At the end of one of my dives, my dive mask started acting up, just like Adrianna’s. The microphone cut off, meaning I couldn’t hear the crew, and they couldn’t hear me. So when my dive buddy gave me the hand signal to start heading up, I was relieved. He started floating up. Not wanting to get hit with his swimming fins, I waited a few seconds before following him. It was in these few seconds that an American crocodile bit down on my leg and starting to drag me backward through the water.

I did my best to stay calm. I knew that the most important thing was not to move my leg, or to struggle. A crocodile’s mouth is highly receptive to texture and taste. I didn’t feel pain, just pressure. So I was hoping that the crocodile was only tasting the neoprene of my suit, not my actual leg. If it decided that scuba suit wasn’t food, it would hopefully release its jaws and let me go.

Finally, it did! I was able to swim to the surface and get medical attention for the bite. When an animal tastes a potential food like this, it’s called an “exploratory bite.” The crocodile was exploring whether or not this new object might be edible. Fortunately, the croc decided that I wasn’t! Adrianna and I have matching scars—an imprint of a crocodile jaw on the inside of our left leg and two puncture wounds on the outside of that leg.

Although there were a lot of safety measures in place for the filming and everyone followed directions—just like you see in the book—accidents can still happen! Similarly to Adrianna, I don’t blame the crew or the crocodile for what happened. I want to give a big shout-out to the medics who took amazing care of me: Mike Hudson and Yusniel Soriano Aguero.