Watch as a great white shark thrashes, lunges at woman after she reaches out to pet the marine apex predator
The group founder says the woman was never in any real danger because the crew had the shark under control the whole time.
Woman tries to pet shark after catching it for tagging
A woman sailing with a nonprofit organization that catches, tags and releases great white sharks, wanted to get a little closer to the marine apex. Video shows her reaching out her hand to pet the shark, leading the shark to slightly thrash. The organization, Knot Lucky, said that the woman was never in real danger and the crew had the shark under control the whole time.
TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. – A woman had a close call with a great white shark when she reached off a fishing boat to pet the marine apex, leading the shark to thrash around and lunge.
According to Jimmy Armel, the founder of Knot Lucky Fishing, the woman was never in any real danger because the crew had the shark under control the whole time.
Woman reaches out hand to pet great white shark
(Jimmy Armel, Knot Lucky / FOX Weather)
"One second Jen, one of our veterans, is laying her hand on a wild white shark like it's the family dog, and the next second that shark whips around and lunges toward her," the organization said in a Facebook post. "Everybody on the boat felt that one in their chest."
The video comes from Knot Lucky Fishing and its the White Shark Tagging Program with Starbrite, Project SeaSafe and Gray FishTag Research.
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Woman reaches out hand to pet great white shark
(Jimmy Armel, Knot Lucky / FOX Weather)
The organization is based in Savannah, Georgia and takes veterans, active duty service members and their families on free fishing trips.
The program deals with catching, tagging and releasing great white sharks off Tybee Island.
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"We name each one after a fallen Ranger or service member, collecting real migration data while keeping our brothers' names alive," Armel tells FOX Weather. "We've tagged ten so far, and with the whites heading back to Tybee now, more are coming this winter."
The shark in the video, however, was unable to be tagged due to safety concerns for the crew and shark.