A great white shark was spotted swimming dangerously close to a group of children off the coast of Southern California, video posted to social media on Monday shows.
Photographer Carlos Gauna said he filmed the encounter with his drone while he was a mile away from the young swimmers, who were seemingly unaware of the shark’s presence.
“This shark was a lot bigger than those kids,” Gauna told “Good Morning America.”
Gauna posted a video of the frightening moment on his Instagram page @themalibuartist. Gauna did not say specifically when or where the video was taken.
“I don’t often get nervous but this was one of those rare instances where I did,” Gauna’s Instagram post reads. “The young swimmers had no idea. I’m standing over a mile away.”
File: A great white shark seen near the La Jolla coast. (Dustin Sergent)
The shark seen in the video had what appears to be a boat propeller wound near its dorsal fin, Gauna said. He suspects that the injury might be what’s caused it to linger in the area.
“I watched it breach twice in one day,” he wrote on social media. “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.”
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