As Kara Skonieczny stood on the warm sand of Florida’s Neptune Beach, she saw something unusual in the calm ocean water. Her online video reveals a few unexpected visitors that joined other beachgoers in the water. Her video begins with a typical sunny beach scene, complete with lazy waves casually rolling up onto the shore. The shallow water is calm, with just a few small waves here and there. Skonieczny reported that many people were wading in the water near the beach. There were also some children with a tube several yards further out in the waves. In front of her, a young woman cheerfully waded through the water. Suddenly, a dark shape briefly surfaced, just mere feet from where the woman stood. In Skonieczny’s video, a tall dorsal fin and the top of a tail fin poke out of the water as a shark swims through a wave, mere feet from the coast. Unlike the casual beachgoers, this shark appears to be on a mission, moving quickly through the shallow water. The shark makes a sharp turn as it spins around, just as a second shark pops up on the right. The two large sharks swim directly toward one another on a collision course. At the last second, however, both sharks whip their tail fins sharply against the water and submerge back under the waves. As if on cue from a Hollywood scene, someone gasps and yells, “Get out of the water!” Unlike so many cinematic dramas, however, the two sharks did not harm anyone visiting Neptune Beach. The sharks were feeding on batfish in the area. This is why they swam and moved through the water with so much excitement. Neither shark was clearly identified, so we do not know for sure what species they were. These, of course, were not the first sightings along the eastern coast. In fact, over two-dozen sharks have been seen in Cape Cod. New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul has also reported at least 19 sightings in Long Island’s Nassau County. The numbers of sharks along the eastern coast seem to be increasing this year. This has many people concerned about spending time at the beach this summer. However, the increased number of sharks along the coast is actually a good thing. Many species of sharks are threatened with extinction, so the increase of sharks in the area may be a sign that conservation efforts are working. Experts also believe that the increase of sharks indicates a healthy environment with cleaner waters since sharks do not live in polluted waters. Even with higher numbers of sharks, however, the risk of shark attacks is still extremely low. Although these powerful animals can cause a lot of damage, they do not target or intentionally hunt humans. We simply are not on the menu for sharks. Most shark attacks are due to curiosity or a case of mistaken identity.
Ready for more shark encounters? Check out the videos below!
See A Surfer Narrowly Survive A Shark Attack During Competition – Surfing huge waves is dangerous enough. Imagine being this close to a shark attack! Shark Fin Appears Mere Feet From 11-Year-Old Girl While Swimming at Myrtle Beach – A 11-year-old girl recounts her ordeal of seeing a shark fin on the beach. See The World’s Only Shark-Infested Golf Course – Seeing sharks in the ocean is scary enough. Imagine spotting 9-foot-long sharks at a golf course! Meet an Incredible Woman Who Has Removed 300 Hooks from Shark Mouths – Watch this incredible “shark whisperer” as she gets close enough to pet sharks and remove fishhooks from their mouths!
