An Orlando Sentinel videographer was out on the water filming a surfer. Focused on his subject in the foreground, he didn’t even know he had caught a shark leaping over a surfer—while twirling furiously—in the background. He learned of it only when going back to the office to edit the tape. The Florida newspaper’s editorial position on this, as articulated in a post, is officially, “Awesome, dude!” And it’s hard to quibble with that.
(PHOTOS: A Closer Look at Sharks)
Although it’s tempting to speculate about why the shark was twirling so high in the sky (Was he making bold bets with other sharks about how many rotations he could do? Was he working with the Discovery Channel to promote the upcoming Shark Week?) the “spinner” shark is a creature well known for such feats, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.
The museum notes that the sharks are not typically of danger to humans, though “it may pose a threat if attracted to divers during spearfishing activities.” Given that spearfishing can involve blood spreading about oneself in the water, in brazen pursuit of sport, this is not especially alarming.
“The spinner shark is an active, fast swimming shark that is often seen leaping out of the water, spinning (from where it gets its common name), in pursuit of prey,” they write. Hopefully the prey in question was not the surfer, but if so we can at least take comfort in the shark’s terrible aim.