Man Who Lost His Leg In Shark Attack Wins Right To Keep Its Tooth

A surfer who lost his leg in a shark attack has been waging a legal battle for the last six years — no, it wasn't for any compensation but to own his attacker's tooth. He has now won the right to keep the beast's tooth that got wedged in his surfboard.

Chris Blowes was attacked by a shark while he was surfing at Fishery Bay in South Australia on April 25, 2015. "It shook me about and played with me for a bit," he told BBC. "And it ended up pulling my leg off." He was 26 years old when the attack happened.

Blowes lost consciousness and was brought to the shore by two of his friends."My heart had completely stopped and they had to administer CPR until I showed any signs of life," he says. He went into a coma for 10 days before bouncing back to life.

When police recovered his surfboard after it washed up on the beach, they noticed a shark tooth and handed it to the Fisheries authorities.

"You can see the damage on the end of the tooth from it going into my board — it's definitely a bottom jaw tooth — its top jaw got my left flank and the bottom jaw got the underside of my board," Blowes told ABC News.

Blowes has since been trying to get the tooth back. However, under the state's Fisheries Management Act, it is illegal to possess, sell or purchase any part of the protected species.

"It was stuck in my board. I would never kill a shark for its tooth but it took my leg [so] I can't see any reason why I can't have that. The shark isn't getting its tooth back [and] I'm not getting my leg back," Blowes told BBC.

On Sunday, he took to Facebook to announce that he won a legal exemption to own the tooth. He thanked Primary Industries Minister David Basham for allowing it.

"Thanks @david_basham_mp for getting me a permit to possess the white shark's tooth that was stuck in my surfboard after my attack," he wrote on social media. "Under strict conditions, I am now allowed to have this tooth that has been with the fisheries for the last six years."

This is the first time the state has granted an exemption to the Act.

Blowes is now planning to take the tooth along with him for motivational talks. But, he agrees it was a high price to pay for the item. "It's not a fair trade, a leg for a tooth," he adds.