Chest-deep in the waters at Adelaide’s Glenelg beach, your humble writer heard a scream from a swimmer who was significantly closer to the shore. As they splashed their way back to land, I spun my head around to see the fin, knife-like and far too close for my liking.
Flailing ensued. Once my sunburnt limbs had finished thrashing in a vaguely sand-ward direction, I managed to turn around again, expecting to clock the leviathan’s silhouette lurking beneath the surface
Well, I did. And it was actually just a fucking dolphin.
Yet, when faced with the knowledge of what could have been, I can’t help but feel my frantic and gangly reaction was justified. That feeling is only strengthened by images like this one, which was posted to Facebook overnight:
There’s more reason for people to be discussing the shark, outside of its boggling size. The death of the impressive specimen, which was reportedly caught at the Swansea Channel south of Newcastle, NSW has caused some alarm.
One commenter wrote “unless that shark left HIS HOME and came knocking at your door, he should still be alive and swimming. RIP.” Another commented “big man in a boat killing an amazing creature on the end of a line. It’s disgusting and embarrassing mate.”
While sea creatures – including sharks – should very much be left to their own devices in their natural habitats, seeing what happens when they do make their way topside still inspires a biblical sense of awe. And yeah, this writer still feels largely okay with hoofing it for the shore.