A beachgoer in Western Australia this week captured extraordinary footage showing an 8-foot tiger shark nearly beaching itself while trying to catch a turtle.
The footage posted below, courtesy of Ruth Gaw, shows the shark swimming rapidly toward shore and the turtle scooting onto the sand in the nick of time.
“The turtle got away, and the shark didn’t stay much longer,” Gaw told FTW Outdoors. “A large stingray [also] got chased in, but I had stopped recording when it happened.”
The shark nearly stranded before thrashing back into the water.
The pursuit occurred at Monkey Mia, a tourist destination famous for white-sand beaches and abundant marine life.
Gaw spotted the shark approaching as her husband Derek and son Arran were fishing for mackerel.
Her footage shows the shark swimming beneath fishing line, and line draped over the shark’s back as it reached the shore.
Not long before the shark encounter, the family had been swimming in waist-deep water.
Tiger sharks can measure nearly 15 feet and often prey on turtles. The apex predators are considered dangerous and have been implicated in several attacks on humans.
