A traveller has shared his excitement in spotting a “hammerhead shark” close to shore on a Sunday morning stroll at Woodgate recently, capturing the close encounter on video.
Arron Flanders said he was walking along the beach between the local pub and the toilet block while on his way to breakfast when he spotted a fin in the shallows of the water.
“I’m a regular fisherman and I’ve never seen a shark in such shallow waters,” he said.
“It looked like it was around 1.5 metres long although being on my own I wasn’t courageous enough to get in and have a closer look!
“I didn’t want to risk a chomp on the leg!
“Instead, I just grabbed my phone and started filming, following the shark along the beach for about 150 metres before the shark turned around.”
A regular visitor to Woodgate, Arron said he was surprised with the encounter and hadn’t seen a shark in the area for more than nine years.
“I’ve seen sharks locally at Woodgate beach as a young teenager but I haven’t seen one on the esplanade for over nine years,” he said.
“I believed it may have been a shovel nose shark at the time however after showing locals the video, it has been raised that it looked more like a hammerhead shark.”
According to the Australian Marine Conservation Society, hammerhead sharks are a critically endangered and vulnerable species.
They feast on stingrays and smaller sharks and can grow up to six metres.
Their hammer shaped head helps the shark to zone in on its prey by detecting scent and enabling it to see prey both above and below.
Arron said seeing the shark up close was “wicked” and his excitement can be heard as he filmed the encounter.
“How cool is that!?’ he exclaims in the video.
“Look at how close he is, I could walk out and touch him, this is so magic!”
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