INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

Drone Captures Paddleboarder Gliding Over Great White Shark

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 00:57 PST, Jul 9, 2014

An aerial drone captured on video a harrowing moment when a paddleboarder glided directly over top of a great white shark near California’s Manhattan Beach, completely unaware that the animal was there.

The video was captured by noted professional sports and lifestyle photographer Bo Bridges, News.com.au reports. Bridges is known not only for photos of celebrities and athletes, but also of landscapes and the sea. His gallery is in Manhattan Beach, California, the same spot where a long distance swimmer was attacked by a great white shark this past weekend. As The Inquisitr previously reported, the shark was reportedly antagonized by a fisherman on Manhattan Beach pier before it attacked the unfortunate swimmer.

Bridges’ drone captures the image of the great white swimming under the surface, unbeknownst to the group of paddleboarders nearby. It also captured the moment that his friend, Wayne, rode a wave directly over the shark’s back, without knowing it was right beneath him. Bridges posted a photo of his friend with the shark on his Instagram account:

“Ignorance is bliss,” the photographer said on the Instagram upload of the moment. “In this shot, a friend of mine, Wayne is looking at my #drone and catching a wave into the sunrise,” Bridges posted. “He didn’t realise the juvenile #greatwhiteshark was beneath him. They cross paths… #bobridges”

Bridges is a well known photographer, whose work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and Rolling Stone, The Courier Mail reports. He captured the video of his friend’s close encounter with the white shark on June 30, prior to the shark attack that made headlines this past weekend.

Though the white shark population has increased in United States waters over the last decade, attacks on humans remain rare. Recently, a great white was spotted off the coast of Nantucket. The shark was filmed in a breach attack, which involves it rocketing at high speed toward prey on or near the surface, launching its body out of the water in a fierce display. The fishermen who recorded that attack believed that the white shark was attempting to prey on a swordfish that they had caught.

Bridges and his friends have no reason to stay out of the water, however. Rather than attack, the shark they encountered ignored them. The juvenile great white shark was last seen swimming off into the surf.

[Image via News.com.au]

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