A trio of fishermen in California recently encountered a pair of great white sharks, and one of the inquisitive predators sank its teeth into their boat, biting down on the propeller to examine it.
As Shark Attack News notes, the encounter was filmed off the north coast of Santa Cruz. Early in the video, a single great white appears, circling and investigating the boat. Just 30 seconds into the clip, the shark approaches the motor and bites into the propeller, rising from the water. The men on the boat, who appear to be fishing, express their excitement as the great white circles.
Just over a minute into the video, a second, smaller great white approaches the boat and joins the other shark in investigating it. One of the anglers hangs his leg over the side, saying he intends to jump on the shark, though the others dissuade him. Several minutes into the video, the excited man asks if he should grab a gaff and strike the shark, and he is once again stopped by the other fishermen.
Boats can often represent a free meal to sharks, as some anglers toss bait overboard to draw the predators in for a closer look. Opportunistic hunters, great whites have also been known to attempt stealing fish from a line before they are reeled in. As the Inquisitr recently noted, a white shark rammed a fishing boat off Australia, when it attempted to steal a salmon caught on the fisherman’s line. The shark had originally paid little attention to the boat, until the hooked fish sparked its interest.
Great White Shark, Guadalupe Island, Mexico. Photo by Thomas P. Peschak. pic.twitter.com/dSBimgXIha
— Don Ogden (@zuxulelizi) November 24, 2014
Earlier this summer, a photo of a great white taken during a cage diving expedition spread online, raising questions about the practice as some wondered whether it could be harmful to great whites. Dr. Greg Skomal, a biologist who studies sharks for the state of Massachusetts, spoke to National Geographic at the time and noted that a greater threat exists in the possibility that repeatedly baiting white sharks could teach them to associate human beings with food. While great whites typically avoid people, finding them alien to their environment, continued baiting of the sharks may cause the animals to become more aggressive, or intentionally approach fishermen, seeking out food.
[Image: YouTube/ Dave Herndon via Shark Attack News ]
