Chilling moment shark comes within metres of distracted children
Children have been filmed playing in waters just metres from a large shark at a beach in WA.
Video captured by Chris White shows the children watching a stingray in ankle-deep water at Hamelin Bay, south of Perth, on Thursday.
A number of kids are distracted by the stingray as the shark swims towards the shore.
“Shark!” on the children yells.
The shark swims closer but then turns and swims off as people watch on.
It’s not exactly clear what species the shark is but it’s believed to be a bronze whaler or copper shark.
According to the Victorian Fisheries Authority, the species is not aggressive and is often spotted close to Australian shores.
It does pose some safety issues to spearfishers and surfers though.
On Instagram, reactions to the shark’s appearance were mixed.
“That will get me out of the water,” one man wrote.
Others suggested they have seen the shark in the area before and it mostly combs around the beach looking for scraps.
There was another shark sighting last week at Twilight Beach in Esperance.
The Surf Life Saving Club had to get involved and evacuated two men from a rock who couldn’t swim back to the shore due to the shark’s presence.
Australia the deadliest country in the world for shark attacks
While no one was injured in either of the sightings at Twilight Beach or Hamelin Bay, Australia did have the world’s highest rate of shark attacks in 2021 according to data from the Florida Museum of Natural History and the American Elasmobranch Society.
There were 73 unprovoked shark bite incidents in 2021 globally and 39 provoked bites.
Unprovoked attacks occur when there is no human provocation.
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