Terrifying Drone Footage Captures a 12-Foot Great White Shark Circling a Kayaker

From Men's Health

• New drone footage captured a great white shark circling a kayaker in Monterey Bay, California. The kayaker was not harmed.

• The shark encounter reportedly occurred just five miles away from the site of a fatal shark attack earlier this week.

• Here’s how to be cautious in waters with known shark sightings.

Shortly after a young surfer lost his life to a shark attack in Monterey Bay, California, an unsettling video emerged of another person’s close encounter with a great white shark reportedly five miles away from the site of the attack, per The Sacramento Bee.

A kayaker was peacefully paddling through the bay when drone footage captured that she was not alone: A 12-foot great white was spotted circling her kayak, wildlife photographer Giancarlo Thomae wrote in the video’s description. “This is not the same shark involved in the attack,” he wrote.

In the clip, the kayaker continues to paddle and initially appears to have no idea that a shark is a bit too close for comfort. It continues to circle the kayak, but never swims below it. At the end of the video, the shark darts away (and we breathe a sigh of relief).

Earlier this week, a 26-year-old man was attacked and killed by a shark while surfing in Monterey Bay, but experts aren’t sure which type of shark attacked the Santa Cruz surfer.

Despite the back-to-back encounters, experts say the risk of a shark attack is still quite low. The recent incident marks the first death by shark attack in Northern California in 15 years, CBS San Francisco reports.

In 2019, there were 64 confirmed unprovoked shark attacks around the world, which is a significant decrease compared to the five-year average of 82 annual shark attacks, the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File revealed. Forty-one of those attacks occurred in the U.S., and none of them resulted in a fatality.

But as people head to the ocean for an afternoon of swimming and surfing this summer, it’s still important to be cautious in areas with known shark sightings.

James Sulikowski, Ph.D., a marine biology expert and fish researcher, previously told Prevention.com that you should avoid wearing shiny things, swimming at dusk or dawn, and hanging out in shark hot spots to reduce your risk of encountering one.

You can also steer clear of people fishing with bait and avoid swimming in murky water, where a shark could mistake you for its typical prey. And, as hard as it is to stay calm in the presence of a shark, try your best to do so as you exit the water as quickly as possible.

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