iStockphoto / Carlos Grillo
A large hammerhead shark made an unannounced appearance at a crowded Perdido Key beach over the 4h of July holiday (long weekend).
The beach was packed full of people enjoying the Gulf of Mexico’s cooling waters as Florida has been gripped by a dangerous heat wave for nearly two weeks.
After one beachgoer spotted the large dorsal fin of the hammerhead shark it sent everyone scurrying out of the water in a scene not too dissimilar from Jaws 2 when the Sheriff orders everyone out of the water.
Someone on the beach filmed the encounter and that footage has since gone viral:
According to WEAR News, the close encounter happened around 2 pm on Sunday.
Shark activity in June and July is typically high. On the Gulf Coast of Florida, the annual tarpon migration brings more sharks closer to shore, and with schools out for the Summer there are simply a lot more people at the beaches to see the sharks, thus leading to more sightings.
On the other coast of Florida last week, a group of paddleboarders also had a close encounter with a large hammerhead shark. They were making the crossing from The Bahamas to Florida when the shark showed up:
These videos aren’t meant to scare anyone. They are simply a reminder that we share the ocean with sharks and to always exercise caution.