Quick Take
- A wedding anniversary trip to Pensacola Beach turned into a viral moment nobody planned for. See the Pensacola beach moment →
- Approaching a stranded shark to help it sounds heroic, but that feeling fades quickly once you realize exactly what could go wrong. Understand the real risks →
- Most sharks die within minutes on land, yet one species completely breaks that rule. See which shark walks on land →
There are few things worse in life than seeing a fish out of water. This is a phrase that we use in life that describes the feeling of being completely out of place. However, for an actual fish to be out of water, it is the deprivation of breathing. Well, we see this happening with this massive shark that washed up on shore in Florida in the above video.
Mako Shark Sighting in Pensacola
This happened a few years ago in Pensacola, Florida. A large mako shark washed up on shore.
According to the Pensacola News Journal, this video was captured by “Tina Fey, a Texas woman who was vacationing at Pensacola Beach to celebrate her wedding anniversary with her husband.” And the video went viral when it was posted online!
As the video starts we see this mako shark thrashing around, trying to do everything he can to get back into the water. However, all his efforts were thwarted by the tide coming in. Some kind people passing by saw this shark struggling and immediately got to work.
The two men took to the shark’s tail to see if they could drag it out. They were careful not to scare the shark. We have to remember that despite the kindness these people are offering, this is still a shark.
The couples helping quickly realized just how heavy this shark was. At one point they all tried to pull the shark back with all their collective strength. However, this appeared to frighten the shark, and it vigorously flopped back and forth. Finally, they were able to get the shark out enough where it could get under the water, and from there it was able to power on with incredible speeds back to its domain.
Can Sharks Survive on Land?
Epaulette sharks can reach over 40 inches in length.
©wrangel/ via Getty Images
It is fairly well known that sharks like the mako shark cannot survive without water. They are only able to survive for a few minutes because they don’t have lungs. However, there is one shark that is actually able to survive on land!
The epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum) can walk on land using pectoral and pelvis fins as legs and feet to walk on. They can only last out of water for a limited time. According to the Save Our Seas Foundation, “This allows them to move between and forage in tidal pools that become separated from the ocean, and which are inaccessible to other predators.”
Even though the shark in the video couldn’t walk on land, it did have some nice rescuers who were able to save the day!
