Warning as shark spotted at popular Sydney spot: 'Don't swim'
The shark was seen cruising back and forth just off the shore in the southern Sydney bay.
Residents around a southern Sydney bay are on high alert after a large shark was spotted "cruising back and forth" near a popular swimming spot.
A Sutherland Shire man said he saw the animal in the water on Wednesday evening, just metres from the jetty at his Burraneer Bay home near Cronulla.
The shark was reported to Dorsal — a shark reporting app — which confirmed the large bull shark in the area. It said the animal was roughly 2-3 metres long and was spotted 50 metres from shore.
The worried resident warned others not to go in the water. The bay is popular among locals with families and dogs often swimming in the inlet off Port Hacking.
"Shark cruising back and forth in front of our jetty at the end of Burraneer Bay," he warned on Facebook. "Suggest you don’t go for a swim tonight or let your dog have a paddle."
Sharks, particularly bull sharks, have been known to frequent the Port Hacking river, but locals thanked the resident for the warning.
Resident spots 20 bull sharks stalking Brisbane River: 'AMAZING'
Aussie fishermen panic as massive shark 'circles' their boat
Teen girl killed in bull shark attack
There's been an increase in shark sightings of late with another bull shark spotted at nearby Sans Souci on Monday. It came just days after a Perth teenager was killed by a bull shark while swimming in the Swan River in Perth. Stella Berry, 16, had been riding a jet ski when she jumped into the water to swim with dolphins. It was the first fatal shark attack in the area in over a century.
In early January Palm Beach, in Sydney's northern beaches, was temporarily closed after up to 15 hammerhead sharks were spotted close to the shore. Beachgoers were swimming in the ocean when the juvenile sharks were spotted.
The rise in shark sightings could be due to climate change Professor Charlie Huveneers, Research Leader of the Southern Shark Ecology Group at Flinders University, previously told Yahoo News Australia. Warmer waters are pushing sharks into new locations, he said.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
