A video on TikTok shows sharks swimming dangerously close to people at Navarre Beach in Florida. The video has received over 2 million views and more than 4,000 comments. While some beachgoers noticed the sharks and returned to shore, others stayed in the water while presumably keeping an eye on it. Many social media users pointed out that they were likely hammerhead sharks and might have been hunting for stingrays and not interested in the swimmers.
Florida has the highest number of shark attacks of any state in the US, representing 39% of cases in 2022 and 28% of unprovoked bites worldwide, per Florida Museum. These statistics make the threat seem all too real.
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A viral video on TikTok shows just how close the sharks got to beachgoers.
In @allthigsemeraldcoast viral TikTok video, multiple shark fins are seen frighteningly close to the swimmers in the water at the Pensacola beach. Some onlookers on the beach can be seen and heard waving to those in the water saying, “Get out of the water!”
A large number of people swimming in the water were seen heading back to shore, but other swimmers remained in the water. The TikToker used the hashtag #hammerheadshark in the caption and many TikTokers identified the shark as the same species in the comments section. Thankfully, no one was harmed or injured during this shark sighting, but swimmers should always use caution and get out of the water when a shark is spotted.
Hammerhead sharks are one of the many shark species native to Florida’s beaches, along with tiger sharks, bull sharks, lemon sharks, and several other species, per Shark Tours Florida.
Florida has the highest number of reported shark attacks.
According to USA Today, Florida is home to the highest number of shark attacks due to the state having 825 miles of sandy beaches and a large number of people swimming and boating. Florida had 16 reported cases in 2022, which accounted for the majority of the total cases for the US, but was still lower than the state’s five-year average of 22 cases, per Florida Museum. Still, the chances of being bitten or attacked by a shark are reportedly low, 1 in 3.7 million, per USA Today.
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Swimmers always need to practice shark safety.
There are several recommended ways for swimmers to stay safe when swimming in areas where sharks may be present or spotted. Florida Museum advises swimmers to leave the water if sharks are present, to swim in groups, remain close to shore, avoid swimming when it is dark or dusk, and refrain from wearing shiny or reflective jewelry as it can resemble fish scales to sharks.
Swimmers are also advised not to go into the water with an open wound that is actively bleeding and to practice caution if swimming while menstruating as sharks have an acute sense of smell, per Florida Museum.
Social media users had plenty of jokes about the shark sighting at the beach.
TikTok users had plenty of jokes about the shark’s appearance at the beach in the comments section of @allthingsemeraldcoast’s viral video, with most pointing out that the ocean is the sharks’ home and that they were just looking for food.
One user commented, “Awwwwww, is it because it’s their home or is it because they are looking for a snack?”
Another wrote: “Look how it doesn’t bother any of the swimmers. It’s just hunting for stingrays.”
And then the jokes started coming in.
“He’s like ‘was it something I said?’” one user wrote.
“Just wanted to make friends,” another commented.
“Shark trying to figure out where everyone is running to,” wrote another.
Other users pointed out that people at the beach in Florida, are likely swimming with sharks all the time and just don’t see them.
One user commented: “We swim around and with sharks all the time in FL. If people only knew!”
“Piers are very popular with ocean life,” another user pointed out. “This is not surprising at all.”
