A TEENAGER was mauled by a huge shark on his 15th birthday but miraculously survived despite being bitten to the bone and losing two-thirds of his blood.

Lucas Cruz was celebrating the occasion with his grandad, mom, and other family members on a boat by searching for lobsters off the Florida Keys when the beast suddenly yanked him into the sea.

The shark clamped his jaws on both legs before his family managed to pull him back into the boat, People magazine reports.

Lucas lost 70 per cent of the blood in his body and his legs had to be reconstructed in surgery as he somehow survived the ordeal and didn't need amputations.

The teen, who is still recovering from his injuries, said he was lucky to be alive.

He said: "I thought it was the boat, but it wasn't because when I looked above the water there was no boat near me.

"I kind of just bled out on the boat. It crossed my mind that I was going to lose my leg. Luckily I didn't."

Dr Haaris Mir, a surgeon and medical director at the Burn and Reconstructive Centers of America in Miami who helped reconstruct the teen's legs told the publication that there were teeth marks in his upper right thigh.

They were also on his front left leg from the knee down, leaving him with calf muscles "completely cut in half" right down to the bone.

Reports say only an eight to 10-foot bull shark could be responsible for a bite as big as Lucas suffered. The attack happened on August 7.

The news comes after an American teenager almost lost her hand during a terrifying shark attack while on a family holiday in the Bahamas.

Sophia Scroggie, 19, recalled trying to kick away the bull sharks that lunged at her during an ocean swim with her younger sister Olivia.

The wounded teen had a shark tooth embedded in her flesh and she was forced to have two surgeries following the attack.

The number of shark attacks has exploded across the globe as swimmers continue to ignore bloodbath warning signs — seeing nearly 800 people mauled in just nine years.

America has overtaken Australia for the number of attacks with Cape Cod, Massachusetts, now considered the shark capital of the world.

This year has seen 49 shark attacks — six being fatal — across the globe, as the underwater predators continue to get closer to humans.

The US reported 33 incidents, while Australia recorded 18.

A whopping 791 shark attacks have been reported between 2010 and 2019, according to data published by the International Shark Attack File, with an annual global average of 80 bites.

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