A startling drone video captured off the Southern California coast shows a scarred, 10-foot great white shark gliding toward children in the water, raising tense questions about just how close the predator came.
The footage was recorded by shark observer Carlos Gauna, widely known online as The Malibu Artist, and shows the great white swimming straight in the direction of a child near the shoreline.
The shark, a powerful ocean predator, moved to within just feet of the young swimmer before passing by, circling back for another approach, and then eventually leaving the area without injuring anyone.
The children and others nearby did not appear to realize a shark was so close. Instead, they seemed focused on the drone overhead, even waving at it, while Gauna said he watched the encounter with mounting fear.
“This shark has a tendency to get close to people, but on this day, it really made me nervous,” he told Good Morning America. “My heart was pounding.”
In a post on Instagram, Gauna said he had been monitoring the same great white shark, which appeared to have injuries on its back and dorsal fin caused by a boat propeller. He noted that, in his experience, this particular shark seemed to approach people more frequently than others he has observed.
“I don’t often get nervous, but this was one of those rare instances where I did. The young swimmers had no idea. I’m standing over a mile away,” he said.
“My observations showed the shark to be rather active,” he added. “I watched it breach twice in one day (I assume that wound is itchy). And because of the injury I don’t know if it’s searching for easier prey or if it’s more alert. Either way, this shark does approach humans at a higher frequency. At least by my observations.”
Facebook commenters expressed their fear about how alarmingly close the shark came.
“Note to self, if you are swimming and see a drone flying above you, get out of the water immediately,” one person wrote.
“Can we all just come to knowledge that if you are in an ocean and see a drone get the hell out,” another commenter added.
The same SoCal shark videographer had his camera munched on by a shark in late April. A great white shark suddenly lunged at one of his cameras and chomped down on it during an excursion off the coast.
“I’ve been around them a lot,” Gauna told the outlet. “They don’t normally come at you like that.”
Gauna captured the shocking moment from multiple angles.
“It depends on the day, but I typically like to have three cameras going, an aerial drone, and a couple cameras on the kayak and maybe even one on my person sometimes,” he explained.
