A mom has spoken of her terror as she watched a shark circle her daughter while she played in the water.
Per KHON2 News, despite being just a few feet away from the shore, six-year-old Anela Rezentes came within inches of the shark during a day out to Oahu's Kalama Beach in Hawaii on Sunday, May 2.
Footage sees that young girl darting out of the water towards her mom Sheri Gouveia, who at that point was none the wiser. A while after, Gouveia spotted the shark circling her daughter in the video, and as she watched the encounter - her "soul left [her] body".
Check out the alarming shark encounter in the news report below:Speaking to KHON2 News, Gouveia described the fear she felt when she saw the predator in the video: "My soul left my body. I saw the shark. I didn’t notice it was behind my back, so I really wanted to run out. I was really scared."
She went on: "By the time she came out of the water, she was hysterical that there was a shark in the water. I was like 'Oh my gosh', so I ran up and looked for it and I couldn't see it.
"I realized it was actually a shark. That's what shocked me. The gentleman behind her was like 'Did you see it' and I said 'No I didn't' but I caught it on camera."
Speaking to Good Morning America, Gouveia recalled how she "dropped everything" and when her young daughter informed her of the terrifying incident. However, the mom still wasn't able to see the creature for herself.
She added: "I’m just so glad that she left there that day with all 10 fingers on two hands. I guess there really are angels looking over my angel."
According to KHON2 News, experts believe the animal in the video was a blacktip shark, which is known to swim in shallow waters as it searches for baitfish. The experts say that the animal would have hunting fish while it was circling Anela.
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