Measly amount of compensation the ‘mermaid’ attacked by a giant fish got for her injuries

There’s been a truly horrifying video going viral on social media this week, showing a mermaid performer under attack from a giant fish whilst performing an underwater routine at an aquarium. Genuinely my worst nightmare.

In the video, the giant fish thought to be a sturgeon, can be seen approaching the performer before attacking her head and seemingly attempting to swallow her.

The horrifying moment a giant sturgeon attacks a mermaid performer

[📍 Xishuangbanna Primitive Forest Park, China] pic.twitter.com/RQ6cYhA6iH

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) January 29, 2025

The incident took place at Xishuangbanna Primitive Forest Park in China, with aquarium onlookers looking on in horror as the mermaid can be seen thrashing to get free of the giant fish following the attack.

After taking a direct hit to the head she managed to break free and swam up to the surface of the water in order to leave the pool. The performer’s name is Masha, and according to local reports her head, neck and eye were all injured by the fish. Her goggles and nose clip were also damaged.

According to reports in Russia, she was offered just £78 in “moral damages” following the attack and was strongly encouraged to immediately return to work, despite her injuries.

Giant sturgeon attacks mermaid Masha during live show at Chinese aquarium, leaving her injured. Forced to return to work with minimal compensation. #Masha #MermaidAttack #Giantsturgeon #Chineseaquarium pic.twitter.com/zOKSVs8bnv

— Sneha Mordani (@snehamordani) January 30, 2025

Xishuangbanna Primitive Forest Park is also facing allegations of trying to “cover up” the incident at the aquarium after her bosses allegedly barred her from talking about it. The mermaid has not yet spoken out about the fish attack.

According to one person on Reddit, the fish looks like a White Sturgeon, and they explained that whilst sturgeon don’t have teeth they have very powerful suction cups.

The Redditor explained: “No, big sturgeons don’t have teeth in their mouth per se, they suck up their prey like a vacuum, which is probably how easily the goggles and nose clip were sucked out, must have been unpleasant, to say the least.”

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