CRIMSON TIDE: Terrifying video shows Hammerhead shark off Orange Beach as swimmers flee the water
BALDWIN COUNTY, ALABAMA: A ten-foot long hammerhead shark was spotted thrashing off the coast near Orange Beach, days after it was seen by a family on vacation. Reports say a mother told her son to get out of the water as the predator lurked around on Monday, August 22 in Alabama.
The hammerhead was seen flapping its tail as it combed the waters near a vacation rental home, according to WKRG. An unnamed woman while speaking to the outlet said she was on her last day of vacation when she heard a noise in the sea.
RELATED STORIES
LUCKY ESCAPE! Teen attacked by great white shark saved by quick-thinking friend
'Get out of the water!': Terrifying video shows sharks swimming feet away from Florida beachgoers
According to the woman, “Sure enough, it was this huge shark. We were kind of cautious.”
She added, “[I was] scared but more in shock. I was telling my son to step back because he was swimming towards us the shore. I was more shocked than anything.”
In a similar incident reported on August 15, a huge hammerhead shark was seen trailing behind stingrays near the Alabama beach. The shocking scene was captured by Catarena Peek who shared it on her social media page.
The minute and 25 second-long video also showed a group of people watching the horrifying scene while a few swimmers got out of the water as the predator came close to the beach. Peek said that she was staying at the Regency Isle condos at Orange Beach with her boyfriend Alec Deshotel and his family when she filmed the chase.
Deshotel, who is a frequent visitor to Orange Beach every year with Peek, told FOX 10, "This is the first time we have ever seen anything like this for sure. I look out the window...and there it is. Massive 10 to 12-foot hammerhead, whatever it is, I don’t know but it was a big one. We don't know how big it was but it was massive."
Peek added, "There was some man down there screaming that there was a shark and I guess they finally saw the dorsal fin and they realized how close he started getting so they started jumping out of the water as fast as they could."
"I just ended up videoing it and it was a really cool video so I just posted to Facebook thinking a couple hundred of my friends would find it kind of cool and then all of a sudden, I looked down at my phone and it was over 100,000 views and I was like, 'Oh, that’s pretty cool,'" Peek said.
Usually, hammerhead sharks are 20 feet long and can weigh up to 1000 pounds. They live in tropical and temperate waters around the world and feast on fish, squid, sting rays and smaller sharks.
According to experts at National Geographic, the species are usually harmless to humans. However, they can be fierce if provoked.
