Girl, 11, draws praise for shark rescue caught on video

An 11-year-old Australian girl has gained notoriety for her rescue last week of a shark trapped in the rocks at low tide.

The accompanying video shows Billie Rea reaching carefully into a tide pool and picking up a small but hefty shark, which she identifies in the footage.

“I’ve got a draughtboard shark,” Billie informs her mom, Abby Gilbert, who is capturing the rescue on video. “Come on darling,” Billie says to the shark.

Draughtboard sharks, or Australian swellsharks, are nocturnal bottom dwellers that prey on crustaceans and small fishes. They’re not considered dangerous to humans.

“As soon as it came into view, I knew what it was and I knew that it couldn’t hurt her,” Abby Gilbert is quoted by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “You saw in the video just how calm she is, and I feel like that animal felt so safe with her.”

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Billie discovered the trapped shark, measuring 2-plus feet, at Kingston Beach in Tasmania. As the shark begins to wriggle, she offers words of reassurance. “It’s alright, it’s alright,” Billie says.

Mom is worried that her daughter might fall while walking toward deeper water on moss-covered rocks, but Billie manages to bend down and gingerly place the shark into a deeper channel.

She turns and gives mom a double thumbs-up after the shark begins to swim toward deeper water.

The Indian Express collected Tweets from admirers around the world, who viewed the rescue on social media.

A sampling:

“More ppl like this one in the world please.” “Our kids are so much better than we are.” “OMG! I can watch this forever.”

–Image showing Billie Rae rescuing the shark is courtesy of Abby Gilbert; draughtboard shark image is generic