Florida Man Films Alleged Shark in Neighbor's Yard During Flooding from Hurricane Ian [Video]

An alleged shark was captured on video by a Florida man gliding on floodwaters in his neighbor's yard. It occurred during the catastrophic landfall and passage of Hurricane Ian last week. The footage of the so-called "Florida street shark" surfaced on social media and went viral.

While the recording has been confirmed authentic, even wild life officials and experts are not sure of its real identity or specific species.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) last week also warned the risk of coastal erosion or coastal flooding prior to Ian's landfall, which is likely the cause of the shark's unexpected visit in Florida's streets.

Florida Street Shark Video

(Photo : Photo by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)

The Florida street shark video was uploaded by Florida resident Dominic Cameratta via Storyful. In a Twitter post on September 30, Storyful clarified the footage is real but whether it shows a shark or fish has not yet fully been confirmed.

Cameratta told Storyful that he captured the video at his house in Devonwood when he watched the floodwaters overwhelms his neighbor's property. The Dublin-based social media intelligence agency also geolocated the recording was in fact taken in Cameratta's property in Fort Myers, Florida, at 8:04 a.m. local time.

The agency says Cameratta's residence is located near a small lake, about half a mile away east of Hendry Creek, which is a tributary that empties into Estero Bay that rises and falls with the tides.

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Possible Theories

Storyful spoke to local marine and wildlife specialists in Florida for their opinions on the video. A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) spokesperson said its members were "unable to identify the animal." Meanwhile, marine scientist Rick Bartleson of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) said he was not if it was a shark or a sawfish.

The viral shark video speculated that there was an apparent shark swimming in the flooded Fort Myers neighborhood when Hurricane Ian swept through the Sunshine State, bringing heavy rain and strong winds. The story went viral on September 28 when Ian started barreling southwest Florida, causing major flooding and widespread destruction, as well as leaving dozens of fatalities.

In the footage which spanned over a minute, Storyful mentioned that many people who viewed the clip thought it might be a hoax. This is in reference to a fake photo of a shark swimming on a flooded highway that also went viral in 2017 when Hurricane Harvey struck Texas.

In spite of the authenticity of the Florida street shark video, unconfirmed conclusion show that it was a small shark or another type of fish such as a cobia or an armored catfish.

In addition to Storyful, the Associated Press also confirmed the authenticity of the video, along with interviews and examinations of the original clip's metadata, according to The New York Times.

Hurricane Sharks Hoax

In the past, there have been multiple recordings of sharks being stranded or swimming in flooded streets or highways which were found to be a hoax.

In the latest viral shark video, ABC7 news said experts were of mixed opinion, which some says it was a juvenile shark. However, Twitter users agreed on calling the unidentified hurricane shark as a "street shark."

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