Disturbing discovery after great white shark filmed swimming in Aussie lake
Two mates left in search of a great white shark at Lake Conjola, but what they found left them shocked.
“Bloody incredible” is how one expert reacted after a great white shark was discovered swimming in a lake at the edge of a quiet Australian coastal town. But new footage has uncovered a disturbing revelation about the lone predator.
Content creator Trent Micallef became excited when he heard the shark had swam from the ocean and into Lake Conjola on the NSW South Coast. “I've always wanted to see a great white, and I’d never expected to see one on the lake," he told Yahoo News on Tuesday.
Just days after it was spotted on August 18, he and a mate drove a short distance from his home to see it for himself, but what they ultimately filmed came as a “shock”. “If we didn’t have a drone I wouldn’t have known it was there. It was a dangerous area for it to be in because there are often kids and swimmers around there.”
As the pair filmed the shark, it swam along the bank towards the western edge of the lake, and Micallef was able to see it up close. And while he was initially concerned about the danger it posed to humans, he soon became aware that we were a much greater danger to it.
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Despite great whites being listed as vulnerable to extinction in NSW and there being heavy penalties for harming them, on the local community noticeboard fishermen had indicated they planned to try and catch the shark. And while it’s believed to have escaped the lake before anyone could follow through with their threat, it appears to have become caught in fishing gear.
Sadly the problem is widespread, with evidence showing its frequently killing and maiming turtles, sharks, fish, birds and even dingoes around the country. It is often caused when fishermen cut their lines free, leaving it to entangle wildlife.
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“When we were there, we thought it was a remora fish on its tail, but then looking back at the footage we could see it was a lure. And behind it we could see there was a line trailing from it,” Micallef said.
“It’s a shame the effect we can have on them. I would love to have encounters like this more often but if things like this keep happening, we won’t get to have them anymore.”
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