As people continue to ramp up the monitoring of shorelines with drones, a new view of the ocean-land nexus continues to come into focus. Literally. In recent videos from Australia, for example, a drone pilot captured the majesty of a fever of sea rays from above. And now, in Malibu, California, somebody’s recorded aerial footage of something equally sublime: baby great white sharks. Which come so close to people the video’s nerve-wracking to watch.
Carlos G., a.k.a. The Malibu Artist, captured the above video. In his YouTube bio, Carlos says he’s a professional photographer and FAA certified drone pilot. And the photographer does indeed look like a master of the drone arts. (Also, recording the footage in 4K is definitely the mark of a pro.)
In the video, Carlos shows a montage of the aerial videos he’s taken of sharks overall the course of several weekends. There are tons of baby whites at this time of year in Malibu, as April apparently marks an annual uptick in their numbers off the coast of Southern California.
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While watching the baby whites—whom are each about five-feet long, and weigh just 75-ish pounds—is majestic, seeing them swim near unsuspecting people in the water is downright stressful. Seriously, we’re not knocking Steven Spielberg or anything, but this is suspenseful cinematography done to perfection.
Carlos shows several instances of the baby whites swimming within just a few yards of people. And each time the peril is palpable. Right off the bat, the photographer shows a juvenile white—ever so calmly—swimming near a surfer. Who in turn—ever so calmly—begins to paddle away.
TheMalibuArtist
Among all of the instances (there are so many!), the two most frightening ones come toward the end of the video. One, at about eight minutes in, shows a juvenile great white coming to seemingly “sniff out” the situation with a lone swimmer. Another interaction just after that involves a trio of swimmers who, again, have no idea they’re only yards away from a deadly sea monster. Or at least a baby version of a deadly sea monster.
What’s even more alarming than how close baby great whites get to swimmers is how easily swimmers ignore warning signals. Multiple times Carlos tries to warn swimmers they’re nearing sharks with his drone. And every time they ignore the warnings. And even flip off the drone! Which means the lesson here is to, firstly, avoid swimming along Malibu beaches during the summer. And secondly, heed all warnings from drones you see running zigzag patterns over the ocean.
TheMalibuArtist
Featured Image: TheMalibuArtist
