When the words "surfer" and "shark" appear together in a headline, the news usually concerns a bloody encounter. But in Venice Beach, Calif., a few days ago, video footage captured something remarkable: surfers grabbing and saving a great white shark.
The surfers encountered the great white shark, which had a fishing hook stuck in its mouth, south of Venice pier, according to L.A. Weekly and other media reports.
BLOG: Is That a Shark ... Or a Surfer?
The video shows one of the men dragging the injured shark out of the water. At that point, the shark started to writhe. Based on the great white shark's moderate size, it was probably very young. Adults of this species measuring more than 20 feet long and weighing in excess of 5,000 pounds have been documented.
Nonetheless, the injured great white's toothy presence on the beach was unmistakable. One man actually put his hand in the shark's mouth to pull out the fishing gear. A woman in the background is heard asking, "Does anyone have a knife?"
Once that brave fellow pulled out the hook, others came to help drag the great white shark into the water. It remains unknown if the shark survived its fishing injuries, but as journalist Pete Thomas wrote in his Outdoors, action and adventure blog, "at least its rescuers got the hook out and gave it a chance to survive."
Check out the video:
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