When Dale Peterson saw a large
figure thrashing around in shallow waters near his house in the town of
Puertecitos in Baja California, Mexico, last month, he thought it would
be a beached whale or struggling hammerhead shark, known to frequent the
area.
He grabbed his
camera phone and a friend with plans to save the struggling animal, but
as they waded closer to the scene, they realized they were facing a much
more powerful creature: A great white shark.
The shark appeared to be an
estimated 14 feet long and was moving around in 3 feet of water,
according to Peterson, a dive boat operator who has experience with
shark research missions.
“It would come in to the shallows and lay there
motionless, then it would move out again [swimming to] six feet of
water, circle back in [to the shallows], come into another spot and lay
there motionless,” Peterson told HuffPost.As seen in the full video below, Peterson and his friend reacted like any normal adult would when faced with a great white shark ― with awe and a whole lot of F-bombs.
“That’s a f****** white shark,” Peterson says in the video. “Holy s***!”
After filming their encounter, Peterson uploaded the video to his company’s Facebook page, Peterson Brothers Winery, where it went viral.
Peterson was able to position
himself mere yards away from the shark, but he made sure to stay at a
water level that would be too shallow for the shark to reach. He also
made sure to stay behind the shark, knowing that it is very difficult
for large sharks to move or swim backwards.
As seen in the video, the shark had a large
open wound just behind its dorsal fin. Peterson explains in the video
that the wound was likely caused by a strike from a boat propeller.After watching the video, officials at the Marine Conservation Science Institute shared it on their Facebook page, explaining that “the injuries from the boat propeller would likely not kill the shark.”
“They are exceptionally tough with incredible healing ability,” the institute wrote this week in a post.
“They are exceptionally tough with incredible healing ability,” the institute wrote this week in a post.
Peterson believes that the shark ventured in to the shallow waters in order to hunt for stingrays. Mark Domeier, marine biologist and president of the institute, agreed.
“White sharks are generalists (and scavengers) when it comes to diet,” Domeier wrote on Facebook. “In other words they will eat whatever they want at that moment!”
Peterson and his friend weren’t
injured by the large shark during their venture, but they say they were
attacked by stingrays. As seen in the video, Peterson’s friend limps out
of the water after being stung. Peterson shared a clip of their bloody
wounds at the very end.
According to Peterson, the shark wasn’t
stuck, and swam in and out of the shallow water several times. The
following day, it was nowhere to be found.
Peterson
also offered a message to any curious locals in Baja California: “If
you’re wondering if there’s great white sharks here in the Sea of Cortez
the answer is absolutely.”
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