Basking shark video taken from St. Margarets Bay in Nova Scotia is now going viral. The basking shark video taking the internet by storm was recorded by a man who spotted the eight-metre shark swimming around the waters of St. Margarets Bay, close to shore in the Indian Harbour.
The man who took the basking shark video is Bob Found. According to CBC News, Found was able to capture the basking shark video showing a massive shark which measures more than eight metres long. Found said he was "amazed" at the gigantic creature swimming so close to the shore, which is why he took the basking shark video.
Found added that before he took the basking shark video, he thought the creature was a whale. He initially saw two fins emerging from the water and thought that whatever it was he saw, which turned out to be a basking shark, it was big.
CBC News reports that it was Barbara Wilkes, Founder's partner who first spotted the shark, as seen in the basking shark video, from her deck. Wilkes said, "I looked out and I thought 'is that a rock there?' I thought 'I don't remember there being a rock there.' And all of a sudden it started to move."
According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, it is confirmed that the sea creature is a basking shark because of its size and based on the basking shark video. They added that it was likely that the basking shark was feeding close to shore at the time the basking shark video was taken.
Fisheries Technician Warren Joyce from Fisheries and Oceans Canada said that from the footage taken of the basking shark video, he could already tell that it was a basking shark. He said, "I can tell just by the way it's lazily swimming on the surface here, and by the shape of its fins." He added that the basking shark seemed to be chasing krill or small fish to eat while the basking shark video was being taken.
According to The Irish Examiner, Basking sharks are filter feeders which primarily eat krill, plankton and small fish. The gargantuan sea animals are relatively harmless and do not pose any sort of danger to humans. They can grow to the lengths of more than 12 metres. The gentle giants live in coastal waters around the world, which include the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Canada.
Basking shark video taken recently in St. Margarets Bay may have been only finding food to eat and they may not pose a threat to humans, however, according to Joyce, it is best keep distance from the basking shark. He said, "Enjoy your view, don't get too close. They are a wild animal." The name basking shark has been taken from the shark's habit of "basking" in the sun. They are often seen swimming lazily near the surface of waters.
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