12-07-2025
As predatory shark enters Florida surf, waders hold their ground (video)
A large shark attacked a pelican in the Florida surf recently, creating a spectacle but not generating the type of response you might except among waders.
The accompanying footage, captured by Lisa McMillion at Pensacola Beach, shows what was believed to be a bull shark thrashing as it tried to pull the large bird underwater.
Remarkably, only two swimmers rushed toward shore, but even they appeared to be laughing. The two women who figure most prominently in the footage were among waders who did not budge, despite the shark being only yards away. (Click here if footage doesn't appear below.)
Perhaps they were unaware that bull sharks are notoriously aggressive and have been implicated in dozens of attacks on humans over the years. Or perhaps they figured the shark already had its mouth full.
Surfer writes: 'Are Floridians numb to sharks? Sure seems like it, as recent footage showing a large shark just a few feet from shore, rampaging in the water, munching a pelican, and swimmers a mere few feet away…just standing there nonchalantly, and watching it all go down.'
Louisiana radio station 97.3 The Dawg informed its followers: 'You can see some people rush out of the water as the shark approaches the shore, but two women closest to the shark were undeterred by this potential threat.'
Nobody was attacked, but the waders' reactions might show that Floridians are, in fact, numb to the presence of sharks.
Fun fact from the Florida Museum: 'Bull sharks were blamed for a series of attacks in 1916, which served inspiration for Peter Benchley's book Jaws, which Steven Spielberg turned into a blockbuster movie in 1975.'
