Great White Shark Strikes Kayak In South Africa Before Circling Fisherman For An Hour
A South African kayaker recently came face-to-face with a great white shark when the predator grabbed his boat, gouging it and spinning the angler through the water before spending an hour harassing him.
Kelly Janse Van Rensburg, a 36-year-old bunking sales rep, set out for his first kayak fishing trip on Thursday, according to the Times Live. Setting up just 800 meters from East London’s Yellow Sands point, Van Rensburg was startled to see a great white shark torpedo charging his kayak. At first glance, he noted that the shark was the same length as his boat. His nerves on edge, the angler waited several tense moments before the white shark appeared once again.
A male great white shark glides by off the coast of Isla de Guadalupe. #SharkSunday https://t.co/cL7pbL651y pic.twitter.com/CgMzWfFGz8
— George T. Probst (@GeorgeProbst) March 29, 2015
Striking from below, the great white bit into the back of Van Rensburg’s kayak, leaving a circle of teeth marks in the boat’s hull. Dragging Van Rensburg across the water, the shark then acted unusually aggressive.
“It pulled me around about 90 degrees and let go. Then it did a figure-of-eight before coming right next to me. I banged it on the head with my paddle. It reacted as if it was getting its back scratched.”
A great white #shark in #CapeTown. Image by Sergio Riccardo pic.twitter.com/qld3caSNMl RT @africageo
— DianeN56 (@DianeN56) March 26, 2015
Though white sharks will often ambush suspected prey, leaving a surfer or kayaker alone when it determines they aren’t appetizing, the great white that Van Rensburg encountered remained in the area for nearly an hour, investigating the angler.
“It harassed me for about an hour‚ swimming in circles‚ and then buggered off. My nerves were wrecked.”
After making for shore, Van Rensburg was astonished to see a second white shark approaching his kayak. While the first great white was still in his line of sight, the second shark sprang into view at a distance of roughly 150 meters.
Once ashore, Van Rensburg related the story of his dual close encounters to his wife, who promptly ordered the astonished fisherman a shark shield. As Deeper Blue points out, the device generates an electromagnetic field that interferes with a shark’s sensory organs, preventing them from approaching beachgoers.
Earlier this year, a young great white was filmed on a South African beach as several anglers, who had accidentally landed the animal, struggled to return it to the sea. As the Inquisitr previously reported, the great white was able to make it to deeper water, turning back into the ocean and vanishing as a crowd of beachgoers watched the shark go.
[Image: Alison Towner/Marine Dynamics via National Geographic]
