A drone captured the stunning moment a great white shark circled a paddleboarder off the coast of Ventura County, California, back in May. Two paddleboarders stumbled across the small beast on a day out
Astonishing drone footage captured the moment a great white shark circled a paddleboarder in the middle of the ocean.
The footage, which was captured in May, shows an anonymous paddleboarder sitting on his board as a small shark circles it, seemingly examining the strange object in its habitat.
Filmmaker and cinematographer Carlos Gauna captured the stunning moment, which took place off the coast of Ventura County, California.
Gauna, who knows a thing or two about sharks, too, said the juvenile great white was likely less than a year old, citing its size as the reason for that conclusion.
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The paddleboarder encountered the shark with his friend
“In that video, you can see the paddleboarder was just out paddleboarding,” Gauna, 45, said. “His buddy points out a dorsal fin.”
Gauna called the sharks “very curious” but said they’re “often very timid as well.” The behavior of the shark in the video he captured is “typical,” he said — but there’s one thing that makes it “interesting.”
“The shark doubled back,” he said. “You can see it goes right back to the paddleboarder behind the paddleboard, and that’s typical behavior.”
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The shark doubled back and circled the paddleboarder, which Gauna said was unusual
“The sharks learn at an early age that their safest spot is to be behind the subject,” he continued. The fact that the shark in question doubled back is unusual for that reason — doing so may have compromised its safety in other situations.
Nevertheless, a shark like the one that circled the paddleboarder doesn’t pose much of a threat, Gauna said. “I wasn’t afraid for the paddleboarder’s safety,” he said. “Not with a juvenile white shark.”
“There are a lot of juvenile white sharks near shore,” Gauna explained. “In Southern California, that scene is pretty common, especially in summer months.”
The paddleboarder simply remained calm and in place, regarding the shark from his board
The sharks, he said, don’t even have their teeth developed yet to go after marine mammals — instead, they eat mainly fish, some bat rays and smaller things. Humans, Gauna emphasized, are far too large and unattainable for the beasts.
What to do during a shark encounter
In the case of a shark encounter like the one the paddleboarder faced, Gauna said the best thing to do is simply to watch it — don’t chase it, and don’t attempt to scare it off.
“If you ever encounter one, just look behind,” he said. “You don’t chase it and take in the sight. They’re pretty amazing animals to see up close.”