Shark photobomb? Family Photo Captures Big Fish Lurking Just Feet From Family

This article seems legit...and the photo is truly shocking...Imagine taking a fun photo of your kids playing in the surf and, later, noticing the silhouette of a huge shark behind them in a large wave.
Apparently, these kids were just moments away from "This was no boating accident!"...and the wave broke in their favor.

Can there be such thing as a shark photobomb?

That’s what many are calling an eerie and eye-catching photo inadvertently snapped by a California mother that appears to show a large shark, or maybe a dolphin, swimming near her two children.

"It was quite a shock to see” the photo, June Emerson told KTLA about her photo, which captured the outline of a large fish swimming underneath a breaking wave close to the shore on Manhattan Beach.

“Many local surfers and lifeguards have seen this and believe it to be a shark,” Emerson said. “Of course, I told my kids it was dolphin, as we live at the beach and are in the waters here almost daily.”

Emerson said her 12-year-old twins were also unaware of the fish swimming so close to them as they played in the waters off the popular beach on Friday.

Emerson posted the picture to her Facebook page and said she has received thousands of comments from people, nearly all of whom are convinced that the creature in the image is a shark, possibly even a great white, which are relatively common to the area.

Still, other observers say it's impossible to tell without a more detailed image. For example, the shape of the fins and tail could in fact belong to those of a dolphin. Nonetheless, shark sightings in the area have become more frequent in recent years. So, it's well within the realm of possibility that Emerson captured a large shark close to the shore.

Back in November, paddleboarders captured video of a great white in the same area. That video was taken just 50 yards from the shore. And while most people would be terrified by the thought of sharing personal space with what is arguably the Earth’s deadliest predator, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife actually issued a warning for people to leave the sharks alone – for the protection of the sharks.

For her part, Emerson said she’s more than happy to just go on pretending that it was nothing more than a friendly dolphin passing by during an otherwise pristine day.

“Another beautiful day at the beach,” Emerson wrote on her Facebook page. “Big waves and apparently Big Fish! (Look into wave to right of Quinn Emerson, who’s out catching a few!) – Manhattan Beach, California.”

news.yahoo.com...

got to it befor I could . lol yea seen that news and was like wow.
Dont go into the water Juvinal shark??? looks 8 - 10 feet
surfing shark .

A government spokesman from an undeclared agency recently came out with a press release concerning the supposed shark incident.

"It was a weather balloon."

The government spokesman has not returned any calls.

Here ya go.

geez...the ad clip before the shark clip was of longer duration...I have Comcast, and I do not watch their front page clips, due to the commercials....Comcast, or the advertisers that run these ads, if you are reading this, I no longer see you ads, as I suspect many do not either...we simply don't care anymore, but you can continue to waste your money, I guess people need to hang on to their jobs.

Thats just a shark in a picture.

A photobomb, the photobomber should have a smile or face pulled that looks like its in frame on purpose.

Just my 2 pennys

reply to post by IAMTAT


Could be either. My money is on dolphin though, based on the shape of the head (there seems to clearly be a "beak"), where the dorsal fin seems to be on the body, and it looks like the tail is horizontal to me. There may be enough distortion in the wave to make a shark look like a dolphin I suppose, but I think it is more likely that it is what it looks like.

Looks more like a dolphin to me.

That being said I was swimming just after sundown at Santa Monica beach a little south of Malibu in about 3 feet of water horsing around with a buddy. (playing catch with a kelp ball...go figure) We should have gotten out of the water a few minutes earlier but the water as warm and it was one of our last chances to swim in the ocean for the summer. So we stayed out a little longer.

Anyways we were in between a set of waves, the swell had calmed down for a few minutes, and we were standing about 5 feet apart. Suddenly I see my buddy fall back and his legs sorta kick up. Then (at first I thought he was trying to mess with me and kick me or something) but then I felt something very large go right in between my legs and knock me off my feet. This thing what ever it was was long enough to make contact with both of us five feet away. Strong enough to knock two 200lb men on their ass at the same time. Wide enough that I felt it make contact with my legs from my knee to my ankle. Its tail slapped my ankle hard enough as it went by to bruise it a little.

We both turned white and sprinted through the water upright about as fast as you could do it on solid land looking behind us the whole time until we made it t shore.

We both think the animal was about 6 foot long and abut 200 pounds its self. Probably a large nurse, sand or leopard shark out at dusk hunting the surf line. A juvenile larger shark. Maybe a seal but there was nothing coming up to breath air at all and we watched what we could in the waters from shore a few minutes and never saw anything.

Scariest part...it went right between my legs with that mouth 6 inches away from a possible life changing mishap.

reply to post by Biigs

Does this mean that you feel that the photo was a hoax? It seems to be real to me...but I'm no expert.
I would've expected it to have been analyzed and discarded by the news services by now if it was fake.

IAMTAT
reply to post by Biigs

 

Does this mean that you feel that the photo was a hoax? It seems to be real to me...but I'm no expert.
I would've expected it to have been analyzed and discarded by the news services by now if it was fake.

It could be, it could not be.

But a shark in the sea isnt exactly news.

Go online with the search term "shark surf" and see what you think...

Clue;

Sharks have vertical tail fins

Dolphins have horizontal tail fins

This particular dolphin is online so many times in images he, or she, should be autographing surf boards..

There is even an image of a South African surfer sharing the same wave with 2 dolphins if you are unsure about what you are really seeing

Biigs

IAMTAT
reply to post by Biigs

 

Does this mean that you feel that the photo was a hoax? It seems to be real to me...but I'm no expert.
I would've expected it to have been analyzed and discarded by the news services by now if it was fake.

It could be, it could not be.

But a shark in the sea isnt exactly news.

I suppose you've got a point...although, if those were my kids, that particular shark in the sea would be BIG, scary news.

IAMTAT
Does this mean that you feel that the photo was a hoax? It seems to be real to me...but I'm no expert.
I would've expected it to have been analyzed and discarded by the news services by now if it was fake.

There have been quite a few posted online over the years. Although I think the first three may be photoshoped

It's a dolphin, not a shark, and even if it was a shark, people shouldn't be messing around in their domain.

I say, if you are messing around in their domain, then fair dues if you get bit or worse, rest safe knowing that sharks usually attack humans because they think it's something else.

And if the pic is photoshopped, then this is just a pointless thread.

reply to post by redhorse


doesn't matter if its flipper, ill # my pants non the less if i see that while dabbling in the water

reply to post by beezzer


Not swamp gas?? lol

Of course, there's another possibility, it could just be a big moulded turd in the shape of a dolphin

amazing
reply to post by beezzer

 

Not swamp gas?? lol

Its a swamp gas terrorist!!!!

I've been surfing most of my life and have spent countless days on a lifeguard tower. I can tell you that it is rare to NOT see a shark during an 8 hour day at the beach. I do have a good eye and in Florida most of the sightings are spinners jumping which is very easy to spot with an untrained eye. Anytime a helicopter does a fly over in clear water hundreds of sharks are usually spotted, often within a few feet of swimmers and surfers who do not see them.

I have even worked with the guy who made national news earlier this year for rescuing a shark:
www.huffingtonpost.com...

This is a little ridiculous that this has received so much media attention, there must be nothing better to report.

It is probably good no one noticed it until out of the water. I don't know how the guy above - bumped by something large goes back in after that (measuring you up/testing or an accidental encounter - doesn't matter - would freak me out bad).

I don't like swimming far out in the ocean (only in the waves) because of stuff like this but I actually didn't realize until now they hung in the waves that frequently. What food are they getting there? I would think before the break would be best bet for food.