Large great white shark spotted swimming close to Santa Monica pier
Photographer Carlos Guana sent out a drone to capture footage of the shark on Thursday after hearing reports that some Great White sharks had been breaching, or launching themselves out of the water and into the air, he told the Los Angeles Times.
Video shared to YouTube shows the massive white shark swimming near someone on a paddleboard who appears completely unaware of its presence.
When Guana heard there were great white sharks in the area, he assumed they were juveniles, which are smaller and known to frequent the area as they are attracted to near-shore warm waters.
However, when Guana reviewed his drone footage, he was surprised to see an adult great white, which usually opt for colder, deeper waters, swimming near the surface, about 50 yards off the coast.
'The Santa Monica Bay is known as a nursery ground for juveniles,' Gauna told the LA Times. 'But this was no juvenile. This is the real deal.'
Guana said he told a local lifeguard as a precaution, as encounters with violent sharks, like the great white, are rather uncommon in California.
According to the California Fish and Wildlife, about 200 incidents involving great white sharks have occurred in the state's waters from 1950 to 2021. Of those encounters, 107 have resulted in injuries and 16 in deaths.
Attacks from great whites are also incredibly rare. Fish and Wildlife officials say that while the sharks don't usually prey on humans, they may pose a threat to humans if they find them on their 'turf,' or near them in the water.
The sighting was more awe-inspiring than scary for Guana, who took the chance encounter as a reminder of what wonderful wildlife exists just off California's beaches.
'It's a good reminder of how a great ecosystem exists next to one of the busiest cities in America,' he told the paper. 'And just how rare a shark attack here really is!'
The sighting also comes after the largest great white shark ever was tagged off the coast of Massachusetts last month.
Contender, a mature male shark measuring 13.8 feet and weighing around 1,653 pounds, emerged near Nantucket on July 18.
The shark's tag pinged around 100 miles south of Boston and 30 miles from Cape Cod – a popular tourist destination.
The powerful animal had been tagged in January, around 45 miles off the coast of Florida and Georgia, in order to help researchers and conservationists.
Shark Week 2025, an annual programming block from Discovery, coincidentally began two days later on July 20.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
6 minutes ago
- The Independent
Flames and smoke force passengers to flee New York City area train
Flames leapt from the rails of a New York City area commuter train on Monday morning and smoke filled at least one car as passengers evacuated, according to authorities and video captured by a passenger. A roughly 30-second video posted to social media showed thick smoke on a Port Authority Trans-Hudson train car at the Newport station in Jersey City, New Jersey. People can be heard on the video saying 'open the door,' and 'easy, easy,' as they eventually disembark. The video then shows bright orange flames rising nearly to the top of the train car from the rails. The fire started at 6:19 a.m. on an eastbound train, and passengers were evacuated to the platform, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the train, said in a statement. Thirteen people were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene, nine of whom were transported to the hospital for further evaluation, the Port Authority said. The incident is being investigated, it added. The PATH trains conduct an average of about 165,000 passenger trips daily across the Hudson River from northern New Jersey into Manhattan.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
PHOTO COLLECTION: AP Top Photos of the Day, Monday, August 4, 2025
News PHOTO COLLECTION: AP Top Photos of the Day, Monday, August 4, 2025 Show all 15
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Inside the monkey sanctuary which has become a haven for military veterans
In the embrace of a cheerfully chittering spider monkey named Louie, an Army veteran who grappled for decades with post-traumatic stress disorder says he finally feels at peace. "Being out here has brought a lot of faith back to me," said John Richard. "There's no feeling like it." The bond began last autumn when Richard was helping two married veterans set up the Gulf Coast Primate Sanctuary, volunteering his time to build the enclosure that's now Louie's home in rural southeast Mississippi. During a recent visit, Louie quickly scampered up Richard's body, wrapping his arms and tail around him in a sort of hug. Richard, in turn, placed his hand on the primate's back and whispered sweetly until Louie disentangled himself and swung away. "He's making his little sounds in my ear, and you know, he's always telling you, 'Oh, I love you,'" Richard said. "'I know you're OK. I know you're not going to hurt me.'" Richard said his connection with Louie helped more than any other PTSD treatment he received since being diagnosed more than 20 years ago. It's a similar story for the sanctuary's founder, April Stewart, an Air Force veteran who said she developed PTSD as a result of military sexual trauma. 'It was destroying my life. It was like a cancer,' she said. 'It was a trauma that was never properly healed.' Stewart's love of animals was a way to cope. She didn't necessarily set out to create a place of healing for veterans with PTSD, but that's what the sanctuary has become for some volunteers. 'By helping the primates learning to trust, we're also reteaching ourselves how to trust, and we're giving ourselves grace with people,' she said. Her 15-acre property, nestled amid woods and farmland, is filled with rescue dogs, two rather noisy geese and a black cat. It's also now home to three spider monkeys, two squirrel monkeys and two kinkajous, a tropical mammal that is closely related to raccoons. The sanctuary in the town of Perkinston, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) due north of the Gulf coast, includes three large enclosures for the different species. Each has a smaller, air-conditioned area and a large fenced-in outdoor zone, where the primates swing from platforms and lounge in the sun. Checking on the animals — changing their blankets, bringing food and water — is one of the first and last things Stewart does each day. However, she can't do it alone. She relies on a group of volunteers for help, including several other veterans, and hopes to open the sanctuary to the public next summer for guided educational tours. Stewart and her husband, also a veteran, decided to open the sanctuary in October after first rescuing and rehoming monkeys. With the help of two exotic-animal veterinarians, they formed a foundation that governs the sanctuary — which she said is the only primate sanctuary in Mississippi licensed by the US Department of Agriculture — and ensures the animals will be cared for even when the Stewarts are no longer able to run it themselves. All the animals were once somebody's pet, but their owners eventually couldn't take care of them. Stewart stressed that primates do not make good or easy pets. They need lots of space and socialisation, which is often difficult for families to provide. The sanctuary's goal is to provide as natural a habitat as possible for the animals, Stewart said, and bring them together with their own species. 'This is their family,' she said.
