A surfer is counting his blessings after frightening footage revealed a hammerhead shark lurking under the surface as he caught a wave in Hawaii.
Matt Reynolds, 56, was filming himself riding waves off of Honolulu earlier this year when he spotted a dark shadow beneath him — and immediately identified the apex predator by its distinctive-head shape.
Viral video of the close encounter ends with a close-up on Reynolds’ shocked expression immediately after he passed over the fish, just feet away from his board.
“As I was finishing up this particular wave, I was startled by a large shadow below me and I immediately knew it was a hammerhead shark as the water was so clear,” Reynolds from O‘ahu, told creatorzine.com
“I tried my hardest to not panic so I wouldn’t fall,” the spooked surfer said.
“It was a scary moment as I haven’t seen one this big.”
The clip was filmed in January when Reynolds and his buddies were foil surfing near Honolulu. Despite the 10-foot waves that made for an exciting morning, they decided to pack up after the shark sighting.
“I have seen large marine life many times, whales, turtles, sharks… but this is my first time capturing a shark with such clarity,” he said.
While most hammerhead shark species are fairly small, the Great Hammerhead can grow up to 20 feet in length and is a skilled and vicious predator, according to National Geographic.
They rarely target humans, although 18 unprovoked, nonfatal attacks have been reported, according to the International Shark Attack File. Comparatively, there have been 292 Great White shark attacks, resulting in 59 deaths.