iStockphoto / Alessandro De Maddalena
A pair of Aussies boating off of Sunshine Coast, Australia were absolutely stunned when “by far the biggest shark” they’d ever seen swam up next to the boat, a great white shark estimated at over 16 feet long.
They took several videos as the VW Bus-sized shark swam up to their boat and started biting it, which is enough to startle anyone on planet earth. And the curious great white shark ended up sticking around the boat for a short while so they were able to capture videos of the shark swimming:
The water temperature today at Maroochydore Beach in Sunshine Coast, Australia is 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Presumably, the water temperature is much chillier a mile or two offshore. While we in America tend to associate Australia with idyllic beach weather it’s worth remembering that great white sharks prefer colder water and Australia is only about 1,650 miles away from Antarctica.
Great whites prefer water temperatures between 50–72°F which is a pretty big range and also explains how these sharks are seen all over the planet. They migrate throughout the year in search of perfect conditions with many sharks found this time of year in Australia and many found in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
About a month ago in Massachusetts some fishermen had a similar encounter to the one above. The main difference is that in Massachusetts the shark was considerably smaller than the ABSOLUTE UNIT of a great white seen above.
@accuweather A group of boaters in Massachusetts had a VERY close encounter with a shark this week. 🦈 #shark #sharks #sharkencounter #sharksoftiktok #news #massachusetts #ocean #boat #boating
Spend enough time on the water and you’re bound to see something crazy but of these encounters are once-in-a-lifetime experiences for everyone involved!