Beachgoers in Pensacola, Florida, saved a large shark that had become stranded on the beach.
The rescue was filmed, per WKMG News 6.
A group of men worked to lift the shark up by the tail to turn it around, but it began thrashing, causing them to back away.
One of the men noted, “Nobody caught that. It beached itself.”
Another noted, “He started swimming up.”
The woman filming the incident focused on the shark’s open mouth and noted, “Babe, look at them freaking teeth.”
One of the men was heard stating, “I said like, ‘Get the hell out of the water, now!’”
The group called a lifeguard to ask whether the shark was dying or not.
As they began to attempt to help the shark again the woman filming said, “Babe, it’s too dangerous. Don’t be doing that.”
One of the rescuers stated, “He’ll die if he doesn’t get back in the water.”
The men then successfully pulled the shark into the shallows and faced it away from the beach.
One of the rescuers remained holding the shark’s fin until it steadied itself and then swam away as the crowd cheered.
According to WUSF Public Media, state officials have noted that encounters between humans and sharks have grown more frequent due to shark conservation efforts. However, the waters have not become more deadly.
Robert Hueter, shark scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory, also stated, “We’ve achieved real success in shark conservation, a goal that, quite frankly, was laughable in the ‘Jaws’ era, leading up to the 1990s.”
“Since then, we’ve come to understand the vulnerability of sharks to fishing pressure and the important role they play in marine ecosystems,” he went on.
“And we’ve also put the risk of shark bites on humans in the proper perspective,” he concluded.
Wildlife artist and conservationist Guy Harvey noted, “The shark is not an invasive species. We cannot treat it as the enemy.”
