iStockphoto / Alessandro De Maddalena
The mako shark is one of the most acrobatic species of sharks in the ocean. It isn’t uncommon for fishermen to see makos leaping from the water and doing flips and spins.
This happens most often when the fast-swimming shark is ambushing a baitfish on the surface and it explodes out of the water attempting to eat a smaller fish or a fishing lure. Bringing it full circle, the reason fishermen witness mako sharks jumping is because the sharks and the fishermen are usually both chasing the baitfish. From the fishermen’s perspective, where there are a lot of baitfish there are bigger fish (and sometimes mako sharks).
A group of fishermen were chasing kingfish off the town of Whitianga in New Zealand’s North Island. They were gobsmacked when a jumping mako shark leapt from the water and landed on the bow of their boat. Churchys Charters NZ shared the surreal footage that is now going viral.
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Leaping Mako Shark Jumps On Top of Fishing Boat And Gets Stuck
The crew said the shark made it safely back into the water. They said “It was on the boat for more than two minutes but then it lowered itself back in the water safely – it wasn’t hurt so it was a happy outcome for everyone. My heart was racing – I had to sit down for a bit. Everyone was stunned. Then we took a few minutes, and then we just got back into fishing.”
Mako sharks are easily capable of reaching speeds over 30 mph and have been recorded with speed bursts up to 46 miles per hour (74 kph). When jumping mako sharks explode from the water at those speeds they can get a LOT of air. So anyone out there who thinks this isn’t possible for a shark to land on a boat like this, just know that it 100% is.
In fact, a similar incident took place off Monhegan Island, Maine in September when a large mako shark jumped right into a group’s fishing boat:
Still don’t believe these sharks jump like that?!
This video from back in 2019 is one of my all-time favorite mako shark fishing clips. It illustrates just how acrobatic this species can be.
In this instance, a group is out fishing and hooked up with a mako. The shark wants to toss the hook and is doing anything and everything possible to throw the hook out of its mouth.
The air that shark got is incredible. This is such a fast and powerful species.