A report about a terrified body surfer who survives a shark encounter recounts how close he came to getting bitten or killed, but it was not a great white. He recalled that he was not careful and the predator saw its chance for prey was a gut reaction to shark fear.
The incident happened when he went mat surfing with a pal at the Gunnamatta Surf Beach in Fingal, located in Victoria, last Monday. He added that it could have been his final swim, luckily surviving because it was a less ferocious shark.
The sevengill's 'show off' was luckily caught on cam
Roger Essig, 42, said he was in deep water when it happened, and terror followed when the six-foot shark was ready to attack him. He was relieved for a second, realizing it was not a Tiger or White shark.
When the Victoria resident spoke, he said that a shark was seen immediately as soon as he pressed the record on the action camera. It was a broadnose sevengill, coming after him, cited ABC News.
The incident was captured on video showing the whole encounter which he uploaded to Reddit. Seeing the shark, the surfer panicked immediately and used his fins to disconcert the animal, reported the Daily Mail.
Experts caution against doing this because a human swimmer thrashing about will be attacked more by these creatures especially a sevengill shark, which is 6-foot long that can easily take down a flailing human in the sea.
At one point, the terrified Essig told the media that he felt about how peaceful it was to be out in the sea with the ocean floor so far below, not realizing to be far from safety and the shore. Just then, the shark appeared from the depths to go after him unnoticed.
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He relates that he was on a Surfmat, a lightweight inflatable surf craft to ride on the waves. He also had another piece of equipment, a new camera on a helmet that captured everything at 360 degrees, noted Express Digest.
He was using his fins to strike the predator, even shouting to scare it away and make other surfers aware of what is happening.
Paddling slowly to get to shore very calmly is usual, but he thrashed madly. It might be the last thing anyone will do. The shark could easily be attracted by more movement that could mislead it into thinking of another marine prey.
The surfer was not sure if his response is in the best possible way. He mentioned he remained motionless once it was close to him, but his flailing frightened it away, Essig added.The bodysurfer had to paddle the journey back to shore in ten frightening minutes, with a strong current opposing his efforts.
No fish could scare him off
Later Essig posted his video of the arduous swim back to land, and users talked about what happened to him.
His experience was not a joke, but one made light how the seven-gill shark checked out his seal impression. The suffer responded if he panicked more, it might be more different how it ended.
Many responded to the video and gave their comments, and the bodysurfer said he will not be easily stopped by the encounter and assured that he will be back.
Essig survived the shark encounter because he did what he thought best in that life-threatening moment, even if his actions could have attracted more attention from the sevengill shark.
