A Californian man survived a terrifying experience when a shark suddenly sank its teeth into his kayak.
The 19-year-old had a “close encounter” with a shark that exhibited “aggressive” behavior on Tuesday, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office said on social media.
The shark leapt out of the water and sank its jaws into the middle of the kayak, the Mercury News reported. The man, who had been fishing at the time, fell into the sea after the impact, but luckily the shark didn’t attack again, and he was able to swim about 500 feet to the shore, the news outlet reported.
Earlier today, we received a report of aggressive shark behavior in the vicinity of Pebble Beach, just south of Pescadero, in state beach jurisdiction. A kayaker had a close encounter with a shark, but thankfully emerged unharmed. pic.twitter.com/CrAy7K23lb
— San Mateo County S.O (@SMCSheriff) August 22, 2023
It isn’t certain which type of shark carried out the attack as there are several species that live around the Californian coast, including great whites, leopard sharks and the horn shark.
This was the first shark incident encountered in the area since the beginning of 2023, the Sheriff’s office said, according to the Press Democrat.
Although shark attacks are rare, they do occasionally occur, especially in the warmer, summer months when humans are in the water more often.
This is certainly not the first incident of its kind. Sharks have been known to circle and attack kayaks before. Scientists believe that from below, kayaks may resemble other animals, such as seals—which are some sharks’ preferred prey.
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The sounds of a paddle on the water also mimic those of prey, attracting sharks to draw closer and investigate.
As this man was also fishing at the time, the fish attracted to his bait may have also drawn the shark to the area.
It’s likely that after biting the kayak, the shark let go immediately once realizing it was not its preferred source of food.
In May, a kayaker off the coast of Hawaii was rammed by a huge tiger shark.
Scott Haraguchi, @hawaiinearshorefishing on Instagram, shared a video of the encounter to his YouTube channel shortly after the incident. In the clip, the tiger shark can be seen rushing towards the man and his kayak with its mouth open.
“I heard a whooshing sound that sounded like a boat heading towards me without the motor and I looked up and I saw this big brown thing. My brain thought it was a turtle but then I got slammed by it and realized that it was a tiger shark,” Haraguchi told local news KITV4 Island Television at the time.
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