While exploring the rainforests near West Papua, Indonesia, 58-year-old Tony Exall felt irritation in his left eye, initially dismissing it as sweat or a minor bug. Hours later, a fellow traveler identified the true culprit: a leech firmly attached to his eyeball.

Concerned the leech might move behind his eye, Exall ended his tour early to seek medical help. After visiting two hospitals over eight hours, doctors successfully removed the leech using tweezers, despite its strong grip on his eye tissue.

Remarkably, Exall managed to photograph the rare king bird-of-paradise just minutes before the leech incident, achieving his photography goal amidst the jungle's unexpected challenges.