For most people, being stuck in an underwater cage with a 13-foot great white shark is pretty high on the “Stuff I Really Hope Never Happens to Me” list.
But that’s exactly the situation one diver found himself in recently in the waters near Guadalupe Island. The heart-stopping footage was posted to the Youtube channel Garret and Gabe:
It may seem at first glance that the shark was trying to go after the diver, but that was almost certainly not the case. In the video’s description, the man who captured the footage explains:
“These awesome sharks are biting at large chunks of tuna tied to a rope. When a great white shark lunges and bites something, it is temporarily blinded. They also cannot swim backwards. So this shark lunged at the bait, accidentally hit the side of the cage, was most likely confused and not able to swim backwards, it thrust forward and broke the metal rail of the cage.”
Fortunately, the diver in the cage was a highly experienced instructor, and was able to escape the ordeal unscathed by swimming to the bottom of the cage (although he did have to keep his eye on two other great whites that were hanging out below him, according to the video description).
Still, he’ll probably want to take a few days off before he gets back in the water again. And depending on his intestinal fortitude, he might need to invest in a new wetsuit…
[h/t Sploid]