Dog's Rare Encounter with a Baby Hammerhead Shark Is Going Viral
We can only imagine dog owner @kalalakoala02's thought process when she noticed just what her dog was chasing on the beach. A small fin sticking out of the shallow water gave it away--it's a hammerhead shark!
Don't panic, though--it's just a baby shark who wants nothing to do with the pup. This Hawaii-native kept a close eye on the curious dog as she chased the wild shark just offshore, so both animals were safe the entire time. Luckily, mama shark was nowhere to be found, either!
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OMG! We're so glad that Anka got this once-in-a-lifetime encounter on video because we've never seen that before. Most sharks are far too large to get close to safely (even this interaction has its risks), but the lucky dog seemed to find the youngest fish in the sea!
In fact, that poor baby shark seemed panicked by their new friend. As @deaterscooter explained, "Imagine four giant hairy legs descending from the sky chasing you." That does seem frightening!
Several viewers also hypothesized that the little one was separated from its mother before running into the ocean-loving dog, but this hammerhead is actually just very young! Baby sharks are independent immediately after birth or hatching; some even have to defend themselves from their mothers. Hammerhead sharks experience live birth rather than egg-laying, but that doesn't mean any more motherly instinct is involved.
It's common for baby sharks to hunt in shallow waters like these, so these kinds of encounters may not be as infrequent as they seem. This is why practicing safety and mindfulness when your dog is playing in the ocean is important--just like Anka did.
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