A group of selfless rescuers were filmed risking their lives to return a 500lb Mako shark to the water after it became stranded and distressed on the sand.
Beachgoers at Pensacola, Florida, US, were filmed coming together to help the massive beast back into the sea as three people were filmed pulling on the shark’s tail fin to take it home.
But it made a a huge splash, briefly scaring the group, before they went back to try again a couple of seconds later.
A woman, named Tina Fey, who was recording the heroic moment, was heard saying: “Look at them freaking teeth,” while zooming in on the shark’s mouth.
She was also heard warning the blokes that it is “too dangerous” to try and save the animal.
A fourth person was seen joining the rescue effort shortly after, when the distressed shark made an even bigger splash while trying to get off the sand.
The group were finally able to drag the shark out a bit on their third attempt, before turning it back onto it’s belly in the water, allowing it to swim away from the shore.
Tina Fey shared the footage on social media with the caption: “Soo this just happened!!! Pensacola Beach. Contact [wildlife] rescue and life guards, and was told there’s nothing they could do for him. So sad!!”
The woman, from Hallettsville, Texas, was reportedly on vacation in Gulf Breeze to her one-year wedding anniversary with her husband Josh when it “happened to beach itself right in front of us”. She claims it was “clearly sick or injured.”
She added: “We took action to get him back in the water since the wildlife people and lifeguards told us there was not they could do!! So we did our best to try to save him!!”
The shark has since been confirmed to be a Mako shark, which is an endangered species that can grow up to 4 metres in length and weigh 570 kg.
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This article by Kirsty Card was first published by The Daily Star on 18 September 2023. Lead Image: Four men risked their lives to rescue a shark on Pensacola Beach (Image: Tina Fe/X).
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