THIS is the terrifying moment beachgoers spotted a six-foot-long basking shark hiding near their children.
The spooky footage from Aug. 5 shows a pair of tiny blue fins peeking out of the water off a New Jersey beach as a shark swims by quickly.
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A man can be heard exclaiming, “Look, it’s a shark here in Cape May,” as the menacing-looking fish continues to splash.
Screams can be heard in the background from horrified onlookers leading their children to safety at around 3pm.
A surprised woman in a bikini refuses to move and can be seen staring intently at the mysterious creature as it moves from side to side.
The shocked man continues: “Look, it’s a shark man, right near the water! Let’s call everyone.”
His announcement sends petrified swimmers back to the sandy beach.
But some kids are so fascinated by the moving fish that they can’t fully surface that they stick around to get a good look.
The Cape May Point Beach Patrol said the fish was a basking shark that was in “knee-deep water” and just five meters from shore, according to the Philadelphia Inquisitor.
Later, the beach was free of swimmers for about an hour, until the shark swam to deeper water.
“I just saw a dolphin. Well, I thought it was a dolphin,” said 12-year-old Riley Fernald. ABC New York.
Maia Golub said: “We saw two fins appear very close by and we thought maybe they were two sharks, but when we looked closer it was a six-foot long shark.”
Ben Swan, head of Cape May Point beach patrol, said: “It was knee-deep water, five meters from the shore.
“Sharks are always here. We swim with sharks every day. Most of the time you just don’t see them.”
He explained that this is not an uncommon occurrence and that beach staff are prepared for sightings.
“Guards are trained to watch whatever is in the water. Any type of threat in the area.
“If there are sharks, our response is to just clear the water for now.”
Just a few miles off the coast of Cape May in South Jersey, a local marine biologist said she was aware of similar sightings.
She told ABC: “Last week we had two separate basking shark sightings near Cape May.
“This is unusual because basking sharks tend to be pelagic species, so they spend most of their time in deeper offshore waters.”
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Global shark attacks in 2023
IN 2023, there were 79 shark bites worldwide.
Of that number, 69 were unprovoked bites and 10 were provoked.
The United States had 36 unprovoked attacks, which represented 52% of incidents worldwide.
Two of the attacks, one in California and the other in Hawaii, were fatal.
Consistently, Florida has had the most attacks in the country and 2023 is no different. The Sunshine State had 16 attacks last year.
Three of the 10 deaths in 2023 happened at a remote surfing spot off the coast of South Australia known as the Eyre Peninsula.
The area is home to seals, so they attract great white sharks.
The other five fatal attacks were spread across the world, with 1 each in the Bahamas, Egypt, Mexico and New Caledonia.
According to the Florida Museum International Shark Attack Archive
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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