Watch: Great white shark leaps out of water with jaws wide open, misses marine biologist by inches
Greg Skomal, a marine fisheries biologist at Martha's Vineyard Research Station, experienced a spectacular event when a shark jumped out of the water with its jaws wide open and missed him by inches. The shark, whom Skomal spotted during a tagging trip in recent weeks, leaped out with its massive jaws open as he stood on the customized bow of a vessel which was out for research, reported Fox News.
That said, Skomal has had close encounters with several sharks during his time at the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries. However, he says this time it was totally unexpected.
In a video posted to Facebook, Skomal can be heard shouting, "Did you see that? Did you see that?" before returning to search for the marine beast.
The Conservancy released a statement, saying: "While encounters like this one are rare, this video shows that they're certainly possible."
The footage has since gone viral and been viewed over 430,000 times.
"While out on research trips, we've seen white sharks breach and we've received multiple reports of breaching white sharks this year from fishermen and boaters," the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy wrote in a caption on its Facebook page.
The caption continued: "While encounters like this one are rare, this video shows that they’re certainly possible. White sharks are wild and unpredictable animals. This is a good reminder of the importance of not becoming complacent and always staying vigilant when in or on the water."
Having said that, it was obvious that the onlookers were shocked by what they saw. One viewer referenced a popular line from Steven Spielberg’s 'Jaws' movie. “Going to need a bigger boat,” he wrote.
“Good thing this shark wasn’t a better jumper,” another added. While a third simply commented: “It wanted to be left alone.”
Ever since The Discovery Channel held its famous "Shark Week" late last month, there has been a sharp increase in people interested in shark sightings and videos.
Last week, footage of the largest great white ever caught on film named "Deep Blue" resurfaced on social media.
In another video, a great white shark estimated to be as long as 15-feet was seen attacking a seal in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, scaring off surfers who quickly swam back to the shore.