A viral video capturing a close encounter off Tybee Island, Georgia, has highlighted the unpredictable nature of marine wildlife. It shows a great white shark suddenly thrashing and snapping at a woman’s hand after she leaned from the edge of a boat to pet it.
During shark tagging, the predators are caught, tagged, and then released back into the water. The clip was shared by Jimmy Lee Armel of the Knot Lucky Fishing, a Savannah-based nonprofit. It takes veterans, service members and their families out on fishing trips. This practice helps track shark migration. He explained, “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 video captures one of the veterans on the boat, Jen, laying her hand on a white shark as if it were a pet dog. Instantly, the shark whips around and lunges toward her. “The crew had that shark under control the whole time, and it never got close enough to do any harm. 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. We never had a safe shot, and we will never force it. The shark’s safety and the crew’s safety come first, every single time, so we let that shark go to swim another day. They are named after their white underbellies. However, the topside of the predators can be a variety of grey and brown.
They are one of the most recognised shark species on the planet, partially thanks to the popular 1975 film Jaws, which featured a massive white shark.
Armel shared that though the scene looked scary, Jen was not really in “real danger”. Armel said, “This one didn’t get a tag, though. They belong to the mackerel shark species in the family Lamnidae, according to a National Geographic report.
