A two-metre shark that cruised the shallows – including inside the flagged swimming area – of one of Australia’s busiest beaches led to a panicked evacuation of the water.
The distinctive dorsal fin and dark shape of the predator was captured on video just metres off Manly beach on Sydney‘s north shore at around 10am on Wednesday.
After two men almost walked into the shark the alarm was sounded and lifeguards spent an hour looking for the animal.
Failing to find the hunter the beach was declared open only for someone to spot the lurking shark again, leading to everyone being ordered out of the water for the day.
ABC TV presenter Julia Baird shared video of the visitor on social media platform X.
A two-metre shark seen only metres off Sydney’s popular Many beach caused two evacuations on Tuesday
‘Am told this was taken at Manly beach today which is a bit alarming,’ she wrote.
‘Can anyone help identify the shark – please tell me it’s a dusky whaler?’
On Tuesday local news website the Manly Observer shared video that showed a surfer almost walking into the shark.
The man and another on a long surfboard were casually wading back to shore when they spotted the shark barely a metre in front of them.
They warily kept an eye on it as they walked past towards the safety of shore.
‘We are so delighted to see swimming between the flags – but slightly less relieved but more impressed to hear it’s a shark that’s doing so,’ Manly Observer commented.
‘There’s a shark swimming between the flags at Manly close to shore,’ beachgoer Kobie said.
‘Everyone is evacuating the water and shark alarm sounded.’
The predator, which a marine expert identified as a Silky Shark, was eventually herded back out to sea
Later drone footage showed the shark being shepherded away from the beach by a lifeguard on a jetski.
‘He has safely moved on (passed the nets, which are busy capturing non-target species) and chasing fish farther afield,’ the Manly Observer said.
Shark expert Vic Peddemors, who works for NSW Fisheries, identified the animal as a Silky Shark.
‘Lots of baitfish off Sydney at the moment, but very unusual to see this species so close to the beach (2 foot of water),’ he wrote.
‘Its teeth do not enable it to eat large-bodied prey, so not considered potentially dangerous for humans.’
The proximity of the shark to the beach led some to question the worth of shark nets.
‘Good to see this sweet pea making the most of manly!,’ one person wrote on the Manly Observer Instagram page.
‘Probably came in attracted to all the injured/deceased animals caught in the nets.
‘Time just get these nets down, no one that “wants them” is going to go in the water now anyway after this.’
‘The nets that are 150m long do nothing to stop “targeted” sharks swimming around or above. They do however trap a lot of non-target wildlife… and I’m sure these dying animals bring a lot of larger sharks in. Amazing footage of this beautiful shark,’ another person said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
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