MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Street shark: Viral video of shark 'flopping around' in flooded Florida amid Hurricane Ian is REAL!

The video has gained more than 13 million views after it was posted on September 28

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA: Hurricane Ian, one of the most powerful storms recorded in the US which left millions of residents without power and killed almost 12 people, lashed the Florida coast on Wednesday, September 27. Following this, a 10-second video went viral showing a shark swimming in floodwaters on Fort Myers street.

A Twitter user, Armando Salguero, posted the video writing, "Sharks swimming through the streets of Fort Myers." The footage, so far, racked up more than 13 million views with people in disbelief questioning whether it's real or not. Many claimed the video as being fake and that it wasn't taken during Hurricane Ian. According to AP, George Burgess, former director of the Florida Museum of Natural History’s shark program, said it “appears to be a juvenile shark,” while Dr Neil Hammerschlag, director of the University of Miami’s shark conservation program, expressed that “it’s pretty hard to tell.”

READ MORE

Lunar BITES: Shark attacks increase during fuller moon phase, study suggests

Shocking images from Florida show devastation caused by Hurricane Ian as 2 million people left without power

Real Vs Fake

Leslie Guelcher, an assistant professor of intelligence studies at Mercyhurst University, claimed the video was created in June 2010. She wrote in the tweet, which she later deleted, saying, "Don’t think this is real. According to the index on the video it was created in June 2010. Someone else posted it at 10 AM as in Fort Myers, but the storm surge wasn’t like that at 10 AM.” One more questioned, "Sure those aren't dolphins?" While another commented by saying, "I’m not sure that it’s a shark… the way it’s flailing makes me think it’s a different drowning animal maybe. But the water could just be too shallow for a shark to move, and I live in Missouri so what do I know."

However, Dominic Cameratta, a local real estate developer, later confirmed he filmed the video from his back patio on September 28 when he "saw something flopping around," reports DailyMail. He said, as quoted by AP, "I didn’t know what it was — it just looked like a fish or something,” assuming it was about four feet in length. "I zoomed in, and all my friends are like, ‘It’s like a shark, man!’," he added.

Claiming a similar incident occurred earlier, a user wrote, "This same thing happened a few years ago during one of the other major hurricanes. It's wild but, obviously when ocean water is pushed ashore, this is bound to happen. Just don't go wading in that water!"

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.