Chaos struck the water at an Australian beach on Tuesday, December 5th.
Surfers, swimmers, and beachgoers were sent sprinting in panic from the water after a shark was spotted in the water. Luckily, no attacks were reported.
The shark in question? A dusky shark. It all went down at Cylinder Beach, on Queensland’s North Stradbroke, Island, nearby surf spots, shortly after 10am.
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Queensland Surf Lifesaver Mitch Yates took his surfboard out to the lineup, helping the shark out out to sea; he speculated dusky whaler was around four to five feet long.
According to Yahoo! News:
“It’s just easier and quicker and the shark was much smaller than the board, it wasn’t interested in the board, probably wasn’t interested in the people either, it’s just looking for some little fish to nibble on.”
Yates also noted that, while shark sightings and incidents are common on North Stradbroke Island, it’s unusual for them to come this close to shore.
A spokesperson for the local authorities gave this news:
“City of Darwin will work closely with NT Fisheries to investigate the matter and the public will be advised when the lake is reopened.
“In the meantime, the lake remains closed and is not to be used for any water activities.”
Per the International Shark Attack File, Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History’s Florida Program for Shark Research, said:
“Generally speaking, the number of sharks in the world’s oceans has decreased, which may have contributed to recent lulls. It’s likely that fatalities are down because some areas have recently implemented rigorous beach safety protocols, especially in Australia.”
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