{"id":378898,"date":"2026-08-23T07:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T07:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/378898\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T07:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T07:02:10","slug":"great-hammerhead-shark-spotted-just-yards-from-florida-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/378898\/","title":{"rendered":"Great hammerhead shark spotted just yards from Florida beach"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Updated Aug. 22, 2026, 10:46 p.m. ET<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">When a massive hammerhead shark devours an eagle ray just yards from shore, it creates a major spectacle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The accompanying footage, captured last summer but shared Friday by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/reel\/1098532229501264\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Destin Life<\/a>, shows a great hammerhead shark corralling a spotted eagle ray as onlookers gather. (See video below.)<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"gnt_em_img_i\" style=\"height:396px\" fetchpriority=\"high\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/91426076007-hammerhead.jpeg\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Great hammerhead shark draws a crowd.\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The footage was captured July 30, 2025, on Panama City Beach, about 45 miles from Destin.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"gnt_em_cp_cw_i\" data-g-r=\"lazy\" data-gl-src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/91202910007-20260622-t-212108-z-566440326-mt-1-usatoday-29247817-rtrmadp-3-abisonroamingyellowstonen.webp\" data-gl- decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">&#8220;On American and Australian beaches, it is very common to see this shark species preying on rays, which are one of its favorite targets,&#8221; Destin Life stated via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DcU3N5GhdK0\/\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Great hammerhead sharks, which can measure 20 feet, are imposing because of their body size and the shape of their heads.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"gnt_em_ig_bl\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DcU3N5GhdK0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" aria-label=\"view Instagram post: \"><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">They\u2019re considered dangerous to humans, according to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myfwc.com\/wildlifehabitats\/profiles\/saltwater\/sharks\/great-hammerhead-shark\/\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Florida Fish and wildlife Conservation Commission<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">Thew <a href=\"https:\/\/www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu\/discover-fish\/species-profiles\/great-hammerhead\/\" data-t-l=\":b|z|k|\u2691u\" class=\"gnt_ar_b_a\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Florida Museum<\/a> adds: &#8220;Due to its large size and the variety of prey items this species will consume, this species should be treated with respect and caution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"gnt_ar_b_p\">The footage shows a man wading close to the shark, and ocean activities in progress not far beyond the shark.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Updated Aug. 22, 2026, 10:46 p.m. ET When a massive hammerhead shark devours an eagle ray just yards&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":378899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[31,28,30,29,152245,44471,44472,33587,940,15645,39,343,941,3644,96,43996,1027,34],"class_list":["post-378898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-accessfree","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-sourcefor-the-win","tag-sstssportsoutdoors","tag-sstsnoutdoors","tag-tagaustralia","tag-tagbeaches-islands","tag-tagearth-sciences","tag-tagflorida","tag-taglocal-affiliate-arts-entertainment","tag-taglocal-affiliate-travel","tag-tagonline-video","tag-tagoverall-positive","tag-tagsharks","tag-tagwildlife","tag-typestory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=378898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/378898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/378899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=378898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=378898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=378898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}