Beachgoers in New Zealand got a shock after a shark was shark spotted just 20 metres away from them as they swam. The shark was seen swimming near Ppmoa Beach in Tauranga on New Zealand’s north island appearing to stalk swimmers.
The bronze whaler shark posed little danger to swimmers according to a lifeguard.
The latest sighting comes after a woman from Southland on New Zealand’s south island was attacked by a shark while walking through an estuary last month.
During the late-night incident, the 21-year-old sustained a significant leg injury.
Surf Lifesaving eastern manager Chaz Gibbons-Campbell told the New Zealand Herald said in the last two weeks, 42 sightings have been reported across Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty.
He explained: “That’s from lifeguards seeing sharks swimming by, and most of them are on the small size range, so sort of under a metre and a half.”
“We see them all the time … it’s pretty standard.
“Because they’re in pup season, they come into shore to get some of the oxygenated water with all the swell and that’s why you see them sitting in shallows – they’re actually just resting. They’re not actually interested in us at all.”
