Two sharks have been filmed off Panama City Beach, Florida, while on the Atlantic side of the state an alligator wandered onto a Treasure Coast beach.
The first shark video features an estimated 10-foot hammerhead sighted in the shallows near Splash Resort Beach.
Wayne Jones filmed the shark for a few minutes as it floundered in knee-deep water.
Beachgoers crowded in to watch the apparently disoriented shark as incoming waves repeatedly pushed and flipped it on its side.
Unfortunately, information as to what happened to the shark has not yet to come to light, although it may be safe to assume the shark found its way back into deep water.
A second shark video shows what could be another hammerhead swimming toward a number of people enjoying shallow shoreline waters.
Kristen and Daniel Nguyen shared the footage from Regency Towers Condominiums June 3.
As the shark makes its way toward a person wading, the Nguyens can be heard shouting warnings until the shark quickly turns and heads back to deeper water.
The video comes on the heels of another video filmed May 29.
Stan Battles filmed a shark as it hung out near a swimmer off Tidewater Resort in Panama City Beach. He reported watching the shark for about two hours until a swimmer came into view and the shark took an interest.
The swimmer eventually heard the warnings shouted from the beach and left the water as the shark continued investigating the area.
On the other side of the state, lifeguards had a very different situation after an alligator was seen walking on Hobe Sound Beach.
Lifeguards followed the same protocol they do for sharks and cleared the beach while Florida Wildlife Conservation officers trapped the reptile.
Alligators are not commonly found in saltwater since they do not tolerate it well.
“They don’t have a way to cry. They don’t have a way to sweat, so they get too much salt in their body, and it actually causes organ damage. So, you noticed from the video, it wasn’t actually at the water. It was at the beach though, but it was avoiding the water and avoiding all that salt water,” Amy Knight of Busch Wildlife Sanctuary told WPTV.
While the encounters may be frightening to some, remember both shark and gator attacks are rare. You have a higher risk being struck by lightning or injured in a car accident than being hurt or killed by a shark or gator.
Nature is full of predators and they must be treated with respect. When humans enter their home, we must do so intelligently and with caution. Neither sharks nor alligators are overly interested in humans, but they are wild creatures and should not be approached, harassed or molested.
Sadly, more people drown each year than are injured by sharks or alligators. Tracking Sharks recommends every recreational water user know, or learn, how to swim before entering any body of water.
