A WOMAN who was left bloodied after being attacked while swimming in Australia told reporters “I still love sharks” as she was stretchered off to hospital Tuesday.

The 29-year-old filmmaker was taking a dip off Queensland when she was set upon, suffering cuts and a possible broken ankle.

But the unnamed woman, who is working on a shark documentary, was still determined to give the ocean predators the benefit of the doubt.

“I still love sharks,” she yelled to camera crews as she was wheeled past on a stretcher. “Sharks are beautiful.”

Although the woman was in pain when paramedics arrived she was now stable, smiling and very happy, Queensland Ambulance paramedic Terry Cumming said.

Marine biologist Gareth Phillips said the fact that the woman’s injuries were relatively minor suggested it was unlikely to have been a shark that bit her, but probably some other large fish.

“If it was a shark it would have been a very small shark,” he said. “There’s a strong chance that it was a giant trevally or a red sea bass.”

(SD-Agencies)