IT'S BEHIND YOU! Chilling drone footage shows Blacktip shark moving towards swimmers near Daytona Beach
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA: A terrifying moment showing a six to seven foot long shark swimming close to the swimmers was captured on camera on Thursday, August 4. The spine chilling video was reportedly taken by a Florida drone pilot named Robert Russ.
Russ was reportedly using his drone with his brother at Daytona Beach when they saw a Blacktip shark swimming close by. The predator moved from the local boardwalk to nearly a mile and a half north while swimmers were unaware of what was happening not very far from them.
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The drone footage also showed two people, who were in the water at the time, waving at the camera while the shark was very close to them. However, the predator eventually changed its route without harming anyone. Russ told FOX 35 Orlando, “It swam towards multiple people before realizing they were not food and moving on. It was unnerving at moments to watch this since there are quite a few people bitten here, but confirms they are generally unintentional bites.”
There have been a number of shark attacks in the US lately. In July, Florida’s Volusia County apparently witnessed its sixth shark attack of 2022. In the same month, two men were attacked by sharks at Seaview Beach in Fire Island's Ocean Beach sector. On July 13, first, a 47-year-old man, Shawn Donnely, was apparently bitten by a sand tiger shark in the morning. He said, "It got my left calf and knocked me off my board... when I was falling off my board, I saw the fin and its back. I just had to take a second. I looked — my arms were there, my legs were there, I was like 'I’m okay'...” Recalling the spine-chilling moment, he said, “I put my board between me and it, it went underneath me, I slapped it and it was gone. I went straight for the beach and rode a wave straight in." Then later the same day, in the evening, a shark attacked a 49-year-old man who was standing in waist-deep water. As a result, he incurred wounds on his left wrist and buttocks.
Meanwhile, Thursday's drone footage has attracted comments online. A person wrote below FOX 35 Orlando’s YouTube page, where the footage was posted, “Doesn’t surprise me… sharks live there.” Another one said, “This proves that sharks are not after people. The shark went in to investigate and when it realized it was humans and not food, it moved on.” “It's her Ocean,” the third one remarked.
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There were some reactions on Facebook too with a user sharing, “I experienced that back in the 80's at Coquina Beach on Anna Maria Island. It was very close to shore. They said it was sick and shot it!” The second user commented, “That's not new. Happened to me in Florida in 1977.” The third one joked, “The other way around......ppl swimming near sharks 😅.” “I wouldn't get in any water in Florida! Gators and sharks, oh my!” the fourth one added.