A hammerhead shark was caught on a video by a drone swimming around paddleboarders off Palm Beach, Florida. Drone pilot Evan Parness shared the epic video on Facebook as the shark checks out the paddleboarders several times that day on February 19.
Parness wrote in his caption of the video that it was amazing to see how big the hammerhead shark compared to the paddleboards and how thrilling it is to capture the interaction between man and dinosaurs. He even described the once-in-a-lifetime experience as "quite an adrenaline rush."
Hammerhead Shark Hunting for Blacktip Sharks
The video, which was posted on February 21 by Parness, gave people on social media the chills as the shark began to size up nearby paddleboarders, Miami Herald reported. The hammerhead shark appears to be slightly larger than the paddleboards, which is approximately 10 feet. Parness estimates the shark to be about 12 to 13 feet long
"It's not often you get this close to a monster hammerhead on a paddleboard ... let alone have a drone over you recording it," Parness wrote.
He wrote that the hammerhead shark has been checking out the paddleboarders all morning as it hunts blacktip sharks in the area. Due to this, Parness commended the paddleboarders for an experience of a lifetime.
According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, coastal waters, bays, and estuaries in Florida are home to blacktip sharks that form large schools during migration season as they swim toward the southern part of the world and into deeper coastal waters during winter months.
Below is the video taken by Parness of the hammerhead shark swimming near paddleboarders:
Hammerhead Sharks in Florida
The Great Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna mokarran) is a common tropical and subtropical shark species that lives in the open ocean and shallow coastal waters in the coasts of Florida, according to FWC. These sharks favor continental and insular coral reefs, although they are most likely linked to inlets and in the mouths of bays.
They are Nomadic and migratory in which some of them travel up north along the Atlantic coast during the summer season, Hammerhead sharks mainly feed on stingrays, sea catfish, other sharks, crabs, squids, and a variety of fishes.
When they give birth to their young, it is usually already 2 feet. But adults can grow up to 18 feet long and could live for more than 20 years. It is also considered to be the seventh dangerous shark in unprovoked attacks on humans.
Tips to Reduce Chances of Shark Attacks
Sharks are the top dogs of the marine world with a reputation for being bloodthirsty killing machines, although this image is distorted. Nonetheless, the Florida Museum listed some tips to reduce the chances of being bitten by sharks. Here are the following:
- Avoid wandering too far from the shore.
- Do not enter the water when bleeding.
- Avoid water during the night, dawn, or dusk.
- Do not wear shiny jewelry.
- Always swim in a group
- Avoid waters where humans or other animals usually fish, especially those areas with lots of baits.
- Do not go into waters with sewage.
- Avoid wearing an uneven tan and brightly colored clothing.
- Avoid waters where there are sharks.
- Be careful on sandbars or steep drop-offs.
- Do not try to touch a shark.
- If bitten, do whatever it takes to get away.
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