Sharks have a rough time of it.

They’re frightening, sure, but a recent study showed that sharks really aren’t that keen on humans and other surface swimming creatures.

They spend most of their time hunting other species deep underwater.

Every now and then, they do make a trip to the surface, and when that happens, humans often end up terrified.

ABC tells the story of a recent close encounter of the shark kind in Australia.

A teenager has filmed a shark coming within metres of her and her brother while they were spearfishing on the New South Wales South Coast, with her screams alerting passers-by on the beach.

The footage shows the shark apparently following Taia and Baxter Hanley off Bulli rock pools, north of Wollongong.

Take a look:

Two teenagers have been chased by a shark off the NSW coast near Wollongong. The terrifying encounter was caught on camera as the siblings tried to swim away. https://t.co/b3nAU20I54 @myleehogan #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/q3AIBxHJNX

— 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) June 16, 2020

The screams in the video are coming from Taia, as she and her brother tried to reach the shore.

“Taia was hanging off the back of me because she always had a fear of sharks,” Baxter said.

It’s a reasonable fear to have.

Baxter aimed his new spear gun towards the shark, while Taia began filming.

“I was petrified — I was so scared,” she said.

“To be honest, I never thought I’d see one. I always knew they are there, but you don’t think it will happen to you.

It was the third shark encounter in the area within 12 hours. Large schools of baitfish are thought to have lured sharks closer to the shore.

The movement of sharks in an area is determined by a number of factors, including environmental, migration, sea temperatures and abundance of food in the area.

University of Newcastle marine researcher Vincent Raoult said the shark was likely a bronze whaler, and was not acting aggressively.

“These sharks are not considered a risk to humans,” Dr Raoult said.

You can’t blame the teens for being terrified, but the shark was probably just inquisitive, rather than being aggressive.

All’s well that ends well, and the teens have a good story to tell.

[source:abc]