This Shark Can’t Resist Showing Off in a Ten-Flip Performance

Written by Colby Maxwell
Updated: October 18, 2023
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Generally, we as humans don’t view ourselves as “apex predators,” especially when we are dealing with sharks in the ocean. Most of the time, our mental space surrounding sharks is exclusively made up of thoughts like, “Please don’t eat me” and “I hope there isn’t a shark in the water while I’m swimming.” Understandably, humans want little to do with sharks, especially while we are in their watery domain. In a recent clip of a man catching a shark, we see just how wild a shark can get when it’s trying to free itself from a fisherman’s hook!

Make Sure You Check Out the Video for Yourself Below!

Fishing always has an element of surprise to it since you never really know what you are going to catch! In the video below, we see just how exciting that experience can be. Thankfully, they had a camera with them to record the absolutely insane thing that happened next.

At around the 1-minute mark, we see a fin pop above the water, telling everyone on the fishing boat that things are about to get exciting. The man fishing knows exactly what it is: a mako shark. Mako sharks are among the scariest-looking sharks in the world, primarily because of their teeth! At their largest, mako sharks can reach lengths of 13 feet and weigh well over 1,000 lbs.

Within moments of the fin popping above the water, the men on the boat start to get excited. They know what’s coming next! Then, the reel starts to whirr, and the bait disappears from the surface of the water—the mako has taken the bait!

With such a powerful fish on the other end of the line, the bite is only the start. For the next few minutes of the video, the fisherman struggles with the massive shark on the other end of the line. As you can imagine, there is quite a lot of shouting and maybe a bit of cursing thrown in.

Then, in one of the most incredible displays of a shark caught on camera, we see something amazing. As the fishing rod hums, the shark changes direction and swims at full-speed straight for the surface. Breaching the water, the mako flips and turns in the air, hoping to dislodge the hook stuck in its mouth!

Shark Bite - Great White

©Alessandro De Maddalena/Shutterstock.com

Mako are some of the fastest fish in the ocean, and as the video shows, the insane speeds of these fish allow them to clear some 10 to15 feet in the air! Generally, a shark breaching the surface is incredibly rare, but this mako seems intent on showing off. Over the next few minutes, the mako repeatedly leaps from the water, spinning, twirling, and just giving everyone an absolute spectacle.

Most of the time, the only sharks known to breach the water in this way are great white sharks located off the South African coast. Other sharks can breach, but it’s incredibly rare. For these fishermen (and any future viewers), this is one of the craziest things a shark has done on camera.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Sergey Uryadnikov/Shutterstock.com


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About the Author

Colby is a writer at A-Z Animals primarily covering outdoors, unique animal stories, and science news. Colby has been writing about science news and animals for five years and holds a bachelor's degree from SEU. A resident of NYC, you can find him camping, exploring, and telling everyone about what birds he saw at his local birdfeeder.

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