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It was a scene straight out of “Jaws.”
An Australian family got a closer wildlife encounter than intended after a massive 14-foot Great White shark circled their boat for over an hour — and even chomped on their motor several times. Footage of the jaw-dropping encounter is currently making waves on social media.
“We had a big visitor from the deep come up, nice size … white pointer,” David Tuckfield told 9 News of the “white” knuckle encounter.
The Aussie was reportedly fishing with his wife Tanya and his 14-year-old son Shelby off the coast of Perth when the apex predator approached their 24-foot boat and tried to snatch the teen’s catch.
The footage shows the Great White, which Tuckfield estimated to be 14 feet long, breaching behind the boat with its mouth fully agape, prompting Tanya to let out a bloodcurdling scream. Later on in the clip, the behemoth can be soon mouthing the motor with its jumbo jaws.
“He tried to take a chunk out of the motor, we were mesmerized,” exclaimed Tuckfield, who had reportedly never seen a shark that size or that close despite fishing the area frequently.
After an hour of circling the vessel, during which the “big majestic creature” bit the motor several times, Jaws finally swam off.
Despite the harrowing encounter, the family said the interaction was the highlight of their Easter weekend.
“We don’t appreciate them until you see them up close and it is their playground,” gushed Tuckfield.
The angler should thank his lucky stars: In February, several beaches in Sydney were shuttered after a swimmer was killed in a Great White shark attack, which marked the first such fatality at the city’s beaches in nearly 60 years.
Source: NYPOST
