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Horror footage as woman leans over boat to pet great white shark ‘like a dog’ before its shocking reaction
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A video of a shark 'lunging' at a woman who tried to pet it over the side of a boat has gone viral.
The internet has the power to bring attention to the behavior of some people that may seem unbelievable unless you see it with your own two eyes, and this video is no different.
If you were told that someone thought it was a good idea to pet a shark, you'd think it was a scene from a Hollywood disaster film, which would leave viewers screaming at the screen.
But no, somebody believed that leaning over a boat to 'pet it like it's the family dog' was a bright idea, as she touched the head of a great white shark.
A group from Knot Lucky Fishing was out on the water near Tybee Island, Georgia, USA, when they decided to stop and get closer to some sea creatures.
The woman's actions caused the shark to lunge
Knot Lucky Fishing is known to take active duty service members, veterans, and their families on free fishing trips.
They also run the White Shark Tagging Program with Starbrite, Project SeaSafe and Gray FishTag Research.
This involves catching sharks, tagging them, and releasing them back into the wild, which leads us to the incident in question.
In an encounter between one of their veterans and a shark, the woman decided to try and 'pet' the sea predator, as seen in a video Knot Lucky Fishing posted to its Facebook page.
They wrote that the shark had 'other ideas', as a hand can be seen reaching down to stroke the shark on the back of its head as if it were 'the family dog'.
Unsurprisingly, the shark did not look pleased, and lunged forwards, with its mouth bumping into the boat.
Luckily, the woman escaped unscathed, as the fishing company said: "Everybody on the boat felt that one in their chest."
While they seemed quite laid back about the situation, some social media users were more concerned, as one asked: "Why would you want to pet a shark?"
Another said: "What does one expect from a shark trying to protect itself?!"
"'Lunged'. I think the shark was far more interested in getting off the hook than trying to take a bite out of the woman," a third added.
Statement from Knot Lucky Fishing
Following the online reaction, the organization released a statement, claiming that the woman, Jen, was safe the entire time.
"The crew had that shark under control the whole time, and it never got close enough to do any harm," they wrote.
"But that reaction right there is a reminder of exactly what these animals are. Beautiful. Powerful. Wild. They deserve every ounce of respect we can give them."
They said that Jen was never in any 'real danger', further adding that this is what its 'White Shark Tagging Program is all about.'
"We catch, tag, and release great whites to collect real research on where they go and how they live, and every shark we tag carries the name of a fallen brother. Science and honor on the same deck," the post added.
Knot Lucky Fishing then thanked Starbrite, Gray's FishTag Research, and Ambio Life Sciences for their part in starting the fishing company.
They clarified that the shark in the video didn't get tagged as the crew didn't have a safe shot, adding: "The shark's safety and the crew's safety come first, every single time, so we let that shark go to swim another day."