A surfer in Australia slid off his surfboard and into the water just as a shark cruised below him in a close encounter Monday afternoon off Bondi Beach in Sydney.
Toby Nicol, who captured footage of the incident via drone, believed the unidentified surfer stepped on the shark, which appeared to be startled, and darted off and passed under other surfers as it moved on, according to 7NEWS.
“He seemed to hop off his board right on top of the shark, and I jumped a little bit, I did wince,” Nicol told 7NEWS. “I would love to speak to [the surfer]. It would be great to just have a chat and just see if he knew it was a shark that he stepped on.”
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Experts told 7NEWS they believed the shark to be a grey nurse shark, an endangered species in New South Wales. It looked to be about 6 or 7-feet long.
“They’re a very placid animal,” marine scientist Dr. Vanessa Pirotta told 7NEWS. “So to see one move away when a swimmer hops in the water is not a surprise.”
No doubt the surfer can be thankful it wasn’t a great white or tiger shark.
