Hammerhead shark swimming close to the shore
A hammerhead shark has been causing quite a fuss terrifying the beachgoers who were trying to have a good time on the shores of Ocean City, Maryland. They had to stay out of the waters for more than 24 hours until the shark decided to depart the area.
According to witnesses, the hammerhead shark was first seen on Wednesday afternoon, when someone noticed it swimming very close to the shore, which is unusual for this species of shark.
The situation was kept under control by the town’s beach patrol who supervised the shores on ATV’s and warned the people to stay out of the water. Swimmers witnessed the seven-foot-long shark as it got unusually close to the shore.
Butch Arbin, captain of the beach patrol, said that the hammerhead must have been injured because it doesn’t normally swim so close to the shore. Arbin added that even though the shark did not pose any real danger to beachgoers in that region, seeing the ominous dorsal fin gliding through the water was enough to raise the swimmers’ pulse and keep them out of the water. According to Arbin, there was a terrifying moment when the hammerhead appeared to be swimming toward a group of surfers, but the lifeguards on duty started to blow their whistles, alarming everyone to get out of the water.
Experts say that the hammerhead sharks are normally very cautious in the presence of humans and they only swim close to the shore if they are unwell and want to beach themselves. The same shark was seen swimming 15 m from the shore on Thursday morning, alerting the biologists from the National Aquarium in Baltimore and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. The researchers moved fast and tracked the movements of the shark to see where it’s heading and if it’s in poor health.
According to recent reports, this is the second incident this week involving a hammerhead shark.
Earlier this week, a hammerhead was found dead on the shores of Fenwick Island, Delaware. Witnesses said that the shark had given birth right before it died.
Image Source: nbcwashington
