Swimmer unaware of hammerhead shark lurking below
A man leisurely swimming on his back in the clear waters off South Beach, Fla., on Sunday appeared to be totally unaware of what was happening beneath him, and what was happening was a hammerhead shark checking him out.
Miami resident Jason McIntosh was circling his drone above the swimmer and captured video of the approaching hammerhead, and posted it on Instagram to the tune of MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This.” Then, of course, it evolved into the obligatory “Jaws” theme:
The swimmer was approximately 25 feet from the beach near Fourth and Fifth Streets, according to WSVN in Miami. So oblivious was the swimmer, at one point he gave the drone camera a thumb’s up.
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Though it appeared scary, the likelihood of an attack was minimal.
According to the International Shark Attack Files from the Florida Museum of Natural History, there have been only 15 non-provoked attacks by hammerheads on humans since 1580 and none were fatal.
Then there is this from Britannica:
While hammerhead sharks usually are not considered dangerous, there have been several confirmed accounts of large hammerhead sharks attacking people. Most of those attacked were spearfishing, and it could be that the blood of the speared fish attracted the sharks. Nonetheless, large hammerhead sharks should be respected and avoided by bathers and divers.
Photo courtesy of Jason McIntosh.
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