A man’s swim through Perth’s crystal clear waters has turned into a lesson of what NOT to do, after one particular action attracted the attention of multiple tiger sharks.
The swimmer was filmed in waters off Hillarys dog beach in Western Australia, with his heavy-handed freestyle stroke causing the water to splash around him.
Drone footage caught the moment at least four sharks approached the unsuspecting swimmer, with the drone operator telling Yahoo News Australia it was the closest call he’s seen between a human and a shark at the popular beach.
Curtis Ramsay said splashing is one of the behaviours that can potentially attract sharks, and urged swimmers to be more aware of the types of movements that could result in unwanted attention from the predators.
Over the years, Curtis has filmed the picturesque beaches north of Perth with his drone and has seen hundreds of sharks in the shallows between Mullaloo and Hillarys.
He said while most of the sharks he’s witnessed are usually unbothered by swimmers, the man’s splashing triggered a different response in the sharks.
He witnessed four sharks swimming toward the man at different times, with the largest one showing a repeated interest.
“I saw the bigger shark turning around and diverting towards him, which is typically not what they do,” Curtis told Yahoo. “They’ll come in close but they’re not going to beeline it for somebody in the water, so that instantly was like, ‘oh s**t this is a little different’.”
Curtis said initially the shark approached and checked out the swimmer before turning away.
“He made his decision and went away. But another splash would come and he’d go, ‘oh what was that’. And then every time there was another big splash, he seemed to change his behaviour each time.”
Curtis said the experience made him nervous, “just because of the way they [the shark] acted, which was very different to every other interaction”.
The man’s splashing is believed to be the reason behind the attention from the ocean predators. Source: Curtis Ramsey/Supplied
Splashing can mimic a prey item for sharks
Shark scientist Leo Guida told Yahoo News some of the smaller sharks appeared to be juveniles, and splashing on the surface “may have simply piqued its curiosity as an interesting object that on closer inspection, was neither a threat to it or of any further interest”.
Splashing does, however, alert sharks to an animal that may be injured.
“Sharks are great at sensing vibrations in the water, and at quite close range, electrical impulses like a heartbeat,” he said. “So generally speaking, erratic movements like splashing can alert sharks as it can mimic an injured animal.”
Simple behaviour changes beachgoers should adopt
Curtis stressed it was important for swimmers and beachgoers to be vigilant and “in control” while in a predator’s environment.
“The larger sharks are hunters, they are looking for any weak prey… so if you act like that at all then they’ll obviously want to investigate,” he said.
“If I was at a beach that had higher shark activity, I wouldn’t be throwing my dog’s ball out into the waves. If I’ve got my kid with me, I’m not throwing her into the waves, I’d keep her close to me, I wouldn’t be splashing about. I’d just be more controlled and a bit more aware of my surroundings.”
Despite witnessing the frequent shark activity in the area, Curtis said he still loves to swim in the water and has great respect for the sharks that live there.
“I still go to the beach, I still swim where I’ve seen sharks. But I’m making sure that I can see in the water and not splashing.”
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