The great white shark is a formidable fish. Large ones can be 20 feet long and weigh nearly 2 tons. They have huge teeth: when it bites into its prey, a great white shakes its head from side to side, the teeth mercilessly slicing through flesh. Great whites have an unusual tendency to engage in unprovoked attacks on humans. Such incidents are relatively rare but nevertheless have earned the great white a reputation as a dangerous man-eater.
One late winter day, Gene Mace was at Monterey Bay, California. He saw a man in the distance who seemed to have fallen out of his kayak. Zooming in with his camera he saw that the man was under attack by a great white shark. Mace had his wife call for help, but otherwise, all they could do was watch helplessly. We’ve posted the harrowing video below.
As the kayaker, Brian Correiar, described it, “I heard a loud bang as my kayak and I flew into the air. I landed outside my boat, look back to it and to my horror saw a large great white shark no more than three feet away had my kayak in its mouth.” Fortunately, the shark seemed to be more interested in the kayak than him. While the shark knocked his kayak around, Correiar was able to swim away, putting at least a little distance between himself and the massive predator. Of course, he was still in great danger: a great white can swim as fast as 35 miles per hour. If the shark wanted to come and get him, it would.
After several terrifying minutes, a sailboat arrived. Kyle Franklin, his wife, and daughter were out on the bay and saw Correiar frantically waving for help. He was too exhausted to haul himself onboard, so Franklin called the Coast Guard and they were able to pluck the hapless kayaker out of the water.
What did you think of this terrifying incident? Let us know in the Facebook comments and be sure to like and share!