Keen surfer Andrew Rollo has been surfing for seven years, but the last thing he expected to encounter while surfing in the mouth of the River Spey was the unwanted attentions of a shark!
Andrew and a group of friends were surfing in Spey Bay, Moray when he felt something large bump into his leg and board.
At first he thought he'd attracted the interest of an inquisitive seal, which are well known residents of the area, but when he spotted the distinctive dorsal fin cutting through the water towards him he realised that it was a shark.
As the shark continued to circle, the stunned surfers decided to get off their boards and use them as shields between them and the curious predator, which continued to twist and turn with violent thrashes of its tail around the group. They estimated the shark's length at between 8-10' (2.4 to 3m) but despite its unwanted attentions the surfers remained calm and all returned safely to shore to tell their unusual story.
Experts believe that the creature may have been a young Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) or perhaps a Porbeagle (Lamna nasus) or Short-fin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) – pictured above – both of which are smaller relatives of the Great white, but feed mainly on fish and squid.
Many sharks are known to be very inquisitive, and 'butting' and 'bumping' behaviours are often associated with curiosity in unusual objects in their environment rather than aggression.
Incidents of this kind are extremely rare in UK waters where no one has ever been killed as a result of a shark attack.
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