Article posted on Telegraph.co.uk on Oct.5/10.
Saving a great white shark from certain death is not a task that many people would relish, but that didn’t stop two Australian men from risking their lives while trying to refloat a white pointed that had become stranded.
Andrew Eckersley and a passing surfer try to help the juvenile Great White shark Photo: Newspix
The pair came to the aid of the beached shark, spending several hours trying to return it to the ocean without being bitten.
Andrew Eckersley said that he rushed to the 10ft white pointer’s aid as soon as he saw it stuck on a beach on the north coast of New South Wales, Australia.
A surfer was already trying to save the fish, but without much luck.
“It was pretty scary at first. This guy in a wetsuit was sort of baling water on to its back by hand and digging out a hole for it on the ocean side,” Mr Eckersley said.
“It was pretty big. I wouldn’t have been able to put my fingers together if I was giving it a cuddle.”
The pair used pieces of wood found on the beach to try to lever the shark out of the sand and into deeper water and also tried pulling it out to sea “inch by inch”, always fearful that the predator would attack them if it had a chance.
“We got it out to about mid-thigh depth and it was starting to perk up again, which was exciting,” Mr Eckersley said.
“I think the other guy started to get his confidence up a bit when he realised it wasn’t going to bite our legs off, so he took it out a bit further.”
The shark eventually swam off to deeper water but was later found dead on the beach.
Sharks rarely become stranded unless they are sick and close to death.
“It was pretty scary at first. This guy in a wetsuit was sort of baling water on to its back by hand and digging out a hole for it on the ocean side,” Mr Eckersley said.
“It was pretty big. I wouldn’t have been able to put my fingers together if I was giving it a cuddle.”
The pair used pieces of wood found on the beach to try to lever the shark out of the sand and into deeper water and also tried pulling it out to sea “inch by inch”, always fearful that the predator would attack them if it had a chance.
“We got it out to about mid-thigh depth and it was starting to perk up again, which was exciting,” Mr Eckersley said.
“I think the other guy started to get his confidence up a bit when he realised it wasn’t going to bite our legs off, so he took it out a bit further.”
The shark eventually swam off to deeper water but was later found dead on the beach.
Sharks rarely become stranded unless they are sick and close to death.
3 replies on “Great white shark rescued in daring beach drama”
It’s amazing that some1 would actually stop to help a shark, It’s wonderful. I hope more ppl become educated of sharks. Thank U guys for helping that poor shark 🙂
It just shows me that there are people out there that are willing to step up and help when they see wildlife in trouble. There truly aren’t many people that would step up to help a great white. I’d like to think that I would do everything I could to help keep it alive. Great job to the guys on the beach!! Did anybody know if someone took the shark in to be examined and maybe find out what caused it to beach itself to begin with? What caused the death? Just wondering.
I agree! Really cool you tried to help it. I would have; as scary as that would have been! 🙂