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The great white around the beach was only 7 feet.
STATES CHRONICLE – On Friday, a juvenile great white shark caused a scare near Huntington Beach after being spotted by an helicopter patrol. Anaheim police helicopter sent out a warning after spotting the marine animal at 10:49 A.M. not too far from the coast. Their reports have led to further inspection by a lifeguard.
The warnings has been called out for beach goers, as the great white was estimated to be between 10 to 12 feet in length. This triggered them to close Huntington Beach while a lifeguard went out on a jet-ski to better assess the situation. Even though the waters around the beach were closed for 15 minutes, officials took a better look at the marine animal and reopened access.
According to Lt. Claude Panis, from the Huntington Beach Marine Safety, it was just a baby white shark, measured at around just 7 feet. Due to its smaller size than previously estimated, they have decided that it posed as no real threat and allowed access into the waters. However, they posted an advisory sign about the spotted shark that would last 24 hours, until Saturday.
The great white had no contact with people, so it posed as no immediate danger to anyone before it was scared away from the shoreline. Reportedly, this has been “typical” of what they’ve been seeing all year.
Another great white shark has also been spotted in the ocean near Manhattan Beach, not 200 yards away from El Porto at 12:30 P.M.. However, the danger has been cleared as well, due to the small sizes of each specimen.
Great white sharks are species that can be found around coastal waters within all the major oceans. A typical adult can grow up to lengths between 21 to 26 feet, and weigh around 7,000 pounds. However, in spite of popular belief sprung forward by Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jaws’, the great white shark has no taste for man flesh. They are not the preferred prey.
However, it does hold the record number of the highest number of shark to human unprovoked attacks.
They have caused around 270 recorded attacks on humans since 2012. The number is considered skewed though. There have been numerous reports that great whites were usually the first ones to arrive on site of maritime disasters involving humans during World War I and World War II. Many deaths following ship or aircraft disasters into the waters were attributed to the great whites.
Their typical pattern of staying away from the shoreline though have made them an unlikely threat. Out of the unprovoked attacks on record, around 74 of them were fatal. The rest were described as ‘test bites’ a habit of the shark of testing foreign objects within the waters.
Image source: comicvine.com
