Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Or, depending on how you feel about sharks, the wrong place.
A woman enjoying the California coastline received an unexpected surprise when an enormous shark appeared to launch itself from the ocean directly behind her.
The jaw-dropping footage, shared by Surfline and originally credited to Instagram user Erin King, shows a large, dark animal suddenly breaching above the water before disappearing beneath the surface. Check it out below.
The sighting reportedly occurred Saturday, October 17, near Marina State Beach in Monterey County, California.
Local reporter Chris Cerney said California State Parks confirmed the breach after reviewing footage from a nearby Surfline camera. The animal’s species and exact size have not been independently established, although its behavior resembles that of a great white shark.
And the timing couldn’t be more appropriate.
Welcome to “Sharktober.”
According to Shark Stewards, the period between September and November marks the peak season for encounters with adult great white sharks along California’s coastline.
After spending months offshore in an area nicknamed the “White Shark Cafe,” mature great whites migrate thousands of miles back toward California’s coastline.
The reason? Food.
“Attracted to rocky headlands, beaches and islands where seals and sea lions haul out,” Shark Stewards explains, the predators return to prime feeding grounds, including Monterey Bay, Point Reyes, and the Farallon Islands.
These migrations coincide with a seasonal increase in shark-human encounters, particularly within Northern California’s infamous “Red Triangle.”
But the conservation organization’s message isn’t about fear. It created Sharktober to “celebrate, not hate” sharks, emphasizing their crucial role in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems.
And while sightings can be frightening, attacks remain exceedingly rare.
As Cal State Long Beach shark expert Chris Lowe recently told the Los Angeles Times, “sharks are around people all the time.”
The remarkable footage comes just days after a reported 10-to-12-foot great white prompted a temporary beach closure in Huntington Beach.
Apparently, California’s sharkiest season is living up to its name.
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