Typically, when great white sharks are spotted in southern California, which they frequently are, it’s the juveniles, the four-to-six-foot ones, mingling amongst surfers in the shallows. (Like the one seen recently breaching near the lineup at Lowers.)
It is atypical for a full-grown, fully-adult great white shark to come this close to shore. They’re usually in deeper waters, hunting pinnipeds like seals; whereas the younger, smaller ones find their food (fish, stingrays, etc.) in the shallower waters.
But that wasn’t the case with this great white below; hit that play button.
In a new video from TheMalibuArtist – whom we previously featured with another drone video showing a juvenile great white shark inspecting an oblivious surfer – a mature great white shark examines, mingles, flirts with a standup paddleboarder.
Narrating the video, TheMalibuArtist says:
“Recently, it’s not juveniles I’ve been tracking. It’s sub-adults and adults. Some of which are significantly larger than your everyday young-of-the-year white sharks.
“But why are they here? That’s a topic for another video.
“This was one of three large sharks from this month’s observations. It’s also not the first time I’ve filmed a large shark around a human. From my observations, the larger great white sharks tend to be more skeptical of humans, for lack of better words.
“Even when I’ve been in the water with them, the large sharks appear much more calculated in their approach. Perhaps, that’s experience at play.”
For reference, the paddleboard is 11-foot-long; the shark looks about that size, if not bigger.
“It’s not a small shark,” the narrator says.
And then, as it gets within chomping distance of the paddleboarder, suddenly, it swims away at a super rapid pace.
“I did not expect that,” he continues.
But…he reminds:
“They are wild animals that are mostly unpredictable.”
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