A large tiger shark has been filmed near unaware swimmers off Miami Beach, Florida.
Drone pilot Kenny Melendez was out with friends and family members November 24 showing the group how the drone worked.
Around 8 a.m. he spotted a female swimmer in the drone’s viewfinder and thought it would make for some good video, and then he spotted a shadow.
He realized he was filming what appeared to be a 7-foot long tiger shark somewhere in water off Fourth and Seventh Street.
The professional photographer kept the drone 15 feet above the water while he followed the shark as it swam south.
As the shark lazily swam down the beach it came within 14 feet of a man wading in waist deep water.
The shark paid no attention to the man, who did not appear to see it.
As the shark continued its journey down the beach, it passed near two swimmers and even came within a few feet of the beach.
The video is a prime example of how humans share the water with sharks.
Of the 15.5 million visitors in 2015 to Miami-Dade County, there was one reported shark bite.
In 2017 only one serious incident was reported in the area.
Elvin Lanaza was attacked by a bull shark July 9, and was bitten multiple times on both legs.
However, the shark may have been provoked into an attack by a jet ski used in an attempt to chase the shark away from swimmers.
Tiger sharks have been known to act aggressively toward competitors.
Tim Van Beelen captured an example of a tiger shark warning on video off the coast of Western Australia.
He spotted the tiger shark as it was chasing a turtle and decided to film the encounter.
As he swam down multiple times to get a better view, the shark appeared to become annoyed and swam toward the cameraman with its mouth open.
“Sharks and other ocean-scavenging predators are often drawn to carcasses and will compete for them, with one winning out, often not the one that even made the initial kill,” Dr. Neil Hammerschlag, University of Miami shark researcher, told Earth Touch News Network.
“I believe the shark likely thought the diver was another predator that had been attracted to the scene by the smell of the carcass and sound of it being torn apart. With that in mind, it’s possible the tiger thought the snorkeler, as another predator, wanted to compete for the turtle carcass.”
While sharks are often thought of as killers, they are extremely vital to the ocean and to humans.
Those who visit the ocean are entering the shark home and can take precautions to avoid a negative encounter.
While the thought of being bitten by a shark is frightening, the real killer is most often water itself. More people drown every year than are injured by sharks.
