The great white shark is big fish with a bigger reputation. Really large ones can be upwards of 20 feet long and weigh nearly 2 tons. Great whites have rows of large, sharp teeth. When they bite into their prey, they shake their heads violently from side to side causing those teeth to remorselessly tear through their dinner’s flesh. While it doesn’t actually happen very often, great whites are prone to engage in unprovoked attacks against people. When it does happen, it’s pretty memorable and this has earned the great white a reputation as a dangerous man-eater that loves to terrorize people. The hugely successful 1975 movie “Jaws” has probably fixed this notion into the popular imagination for all time.
Darcy Russell and her cousin Andrew were only a mile off Port MacDonnell in South Australia when they had an encounter with a 15 foot great white. In the video they shot, you can see the shark swimming just below the surface, circling the boat. In fact, the cousins report that the shark spent about 10 minutes doing this, though at the time it felt a whole lot longer. And yes, the fin really does stick up above the water. After smacking the boat with its tail, the shark came around and gave the motor a nibble. We’ve posted the hair-raising video below.
Encounters with great white sharks aren’t just an Australian phenomenon. These terrifying predators are on the loose throughout the world’s oceans. But as it happens, there was another great white incident off the coast of Australia just a month before. A great white actually jumped into a boat! The 73 year-old man at the helm only suffered a grazed arm, but it goes to show that even a boat might not be enough to protect you from one of these incredible sharks.
Afraid to go in the water now? Let us know what you thought of this very Australian shark encounter in the comments at Facebook. Don’t forget to like and share: your friends can always do with a good fright.
