Video shows huge shark coming within a few feet of a fishing boat - without the fishermen realising
The lucky fisherman managed to keep hold of his fingertips
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Two Australian men had a terrifying close encounter with a shark while fishing off the coast of Blanche Harbour in the south of the country - and they didn't even realise it at the time.
The video, recently posted to the 'Shark Spotters' Facebook group, shows fisherman Matt Kittel reeling in a prize catch over the side of his boat.
As he leans down over the side to unhook the fish, we see a huge bronze whaler shark passing just under the boat, which was presumably attracted to the area after sensing the struggling fish.
Best to unhook the fish IN your boat."I didn't even realise it was there until I watched the video after" - Its months...
Posted by Shark Spotters on Wednesday, 20 January 2016
Amazingly, Kittel doesn't react at all as the shark passes just a few feet from his fingertips, and neither does the cameraman - the two didn't even know they had a close call until they rewatched their video a few months later.
Bronze whaler sharks, also known as copper sharks, are commonly found around Australia and New Zealand, and tend to stay in shallow waters around bays or harbours.
The species, when fully grown, typically measures around 3.3 metres (11 feet) long from nose to tail, and can weigh over 300 kg (672 lb).
The shark isn't prone to attacking people, but because they typically live in areas close to human activity, a number of unprovoked attacks have been recorded in recent years.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments