Shark Sighted At Ocean Isle Beach Following Attacks
A vacationer managed to film a shark approaching the shallows of Ocean Isle Beach earlier this week, just days after a series of attacks that cost two teens their arms and garnered international attention.
Greg Phillips, a school teacher who hails from Chillicothe, Ohio, encountered the shark on Monday night while walking along the beach with his family. Around 8 p.m., the group spotted the shark, which measured roughly 6-feet-long, as it swam in the surf, feeding. Phillips was able to record the shark, despite his surprise at its proximity to shore.
“It was maybe 15 to 20 feet in front of me in about two to three feet of water,” he recalled. “I was really surprised that something that large was coming in that close to shore.”
Phillips’ footage was recorded just a day after the North Carolina coastline was rocked by dual shark attacks, which took place at Oak Island. As the Star News Online reports, 12-year-old Kiersten Yow, of Archdale, and Hunter Treschl, 16, of Colorado Springs, both lost limbs in the attacks, which happened less than two hours apart. Those incidents followed another shark attack, which transpired last week at Ocean Isle beach. As the Inquisitr previously reported, a 13-year-old girl was attacked while boogie boarding, suffering lacerations on her foot.
ICYMI: 13-year-old girl said shark bit her and boogie board at #OceanIsle beach: http://t.co/PMSHagHGV8 pic.twitter.com/H3EqV9y0Qt
— WSOCTV (@wsoctv) June 12, 2015
After recording the 47-second-long video of the shark, Phillips posted it to his Facebook page, and watched it quickly spread online. By Tuesday afternoon, just a day later, the shark video had been shared over 2,500 times and had nearly 100,000 views. The video’s popularity is a testament to the local attitude toward sharks, which Phillips says has changed following the internationally noted attacks.
“It has just never been more than a punchline. Sharks never even entered into our consciousness until this year. You can definitely tell it’s not a punchline right now. People that come here for vacation are definitely talking about it. Parents are being really vigilant keeping an eye on everything.”
‘His arm is gone!’ Frantic 911 calls reveal grisly scenes of shark attack on NC beach http://t.co/MgpDhSFiLa pic.twitter.com/OVRobQDezr — Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) June 15, 2015
Beachgoers are remaining vigilant in Oak Island as well, as the Boston Herald reports, and the shoreline is being patrolled both by boat and helicopter. Despite recent events, it remains a rarity to experience a shark attack, something that only happened 72 times worldwide in 2014. George Burgess, who curates the International Shark Attack File, noted that he was only aware of two other instances aside from Oak Island in which multiple shark attacks transpired at the same beach on the same day.
[Image via YouTube/ StarNewsOnline]
