Surfers completely unaware huge great white shark is right under them

Three surfers came within just metres of a terrifying great white shark… but had no idea it was there.

Astonishing footage captured the nine-foot long beast gliding through the water right next to the trio who were taking part in a competition.

They were all completely oblivious to the gigantic creature as it circled beneath their boards in South Africa.

Shortly before, the alarm had been raised that a great white was behind the surf line swimming towards the surfers, so a drone was sent up to see if it could be located.

The video shows the shark closing in on the group of surfers with one even riding a wave directly next to it as water splashes over the animal at Jeffreys Bay.

Two other surfers can be seen paddling along as they look to catch a wave at the Corona Open J-Bay 2023 leg of the men’s surfing championships on the south coast.

After hovering between the surfers underwater, the shark appears to set its sights on one of them in particular.

It follows the man closely from behind, getting to within no more than two metres. 

Luckily for him, the shark decides against feeding on humans this time around and sharply diverts away from the surfer, reports MailOnline.

It was at the same event in 2015 that a competitor managed to survive a shark attack live on TV.

Professional surfer Nathan Florence, from Hawaii, shared the video, which was filmed by his friend, on his Facebook page.

The 29-year-old said: ‘It was pretty crazy when we saw some guys come in fast and I asked them what the deal was and they said they had seen a huge white shark come by.

‘It was close enough they said to see its eyes, so we put the drone up fast to see if it was there – and sure enough it was swimming towards the world tour surfers.

‘We tried to warn the first guy with the drone as we were far away and he pulled his legs up but didn’t see the shark, then the shark checks out another surfer.

‘We alerted people on the beach who alerted the surfers and they all came in and the shark cruised on his way up the coast and everyone got on with their day.’

He added: ‘’What a crazy chance to see a shark like that! South Africa is incredible!’

Great white sharks can grow to as long as 16ft and weigh on average anywhere from 680 to 1,110kg – they also have up to 300 razor sharp serrated teeth.

The largest of the species ever recorded was 20ft-long and weighed an estimated 2.26 tonnes – or 2,268kg.

While the National Geographic says that great whites don’t usually eat people, there have been several recorded cases of humans being mauled to death by them.

In September last year, mum Kimon Bisogno was attacked and killed by a great white shark while on holiday with her partner and five-year-old daughter in Plettenberg Bay in South Africa. 

Two months later, a 50-year-old woman also had a chunk of her thigh bitten off by a great white while swimming with her partner in San Diego, California, USA.

Unprovoked attacks by great whites on humans are not thought to be deliberate – and rather attributed to mistaken identity. 

Surfers are thought to be at risk due to the shark mistaking the surfboard for a seal or other kind of meal. 

Great whites are ambush hunters and usually attack by sneaking up from underneath their prey and pouncing quickly and ferociously.

Researchers who carried out a study published in the Royal Society said: ‘This study tests the mistaken identity theory by comparing video footage of pinnipeds, humans swimming and humans paddling surfboards, from the perspective of a white shark viewing these objects from below.

‘Videos were processed to reflect how a shark’s retina would detect the visual motion and shape cues.

‘Motion cues of humans swimming, humans paddling surfboards and pinnipeds swimming did not differ significantly.

‘The shape of paddled surfboards and human swimmers was also similar to that of pinnipeds with their flippers abducted.’

Lead author Dr Laura Ryan added: ‘While it seems unlikely that every bite on a human by white sharks is a result of mistaken identity, in circumstances where surface objects, like surfers, are targeted from below, it is very possible.’

There were a total of 57 unprovoked shark biting attacks recorded in 2022 worldwide, according to the University of Florida. 

Of those, 41 were in the USA, nine in Australia and two were in South Africa.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.