'Guardian Angels' and Dolphins Save Australian Surfer from Gargantuan 20-Foot Shark

While trying to "push" a surfer to shore, dolphins protected him from a stalking massive 20-foot shark, while two "guardian angels" tipped him off.

On September 25, Australian surfer Bill Ballard noticed that the dolphins, which were nearby feeding on a swarm of salmon, started acting differently than usual.

He was surfing at Wallagoot Beach in New South Wales.

Ballard was familiar with dolphin behavior because he had previously encountered dolphins in the area.

He said that the dolphins kept coming up to the surface water to look at him and started swimming back and forth, getting closer and somewhat trying to push or force him towards the shore, but it was hard to describe.

A short while later, a plane that had been observing the feeding frenzy of the dolphins from above flew near Ballard to warn him that a gargantuan 20-foot shark was lurking in the nearby waters.

The two passengers shouted at Ballard and pointed at the shadow of something large swimming nearby as they hung out of the low-flying aircraft.

Shark Attacks in Australia

One of the places in the world where shark attacks are most likely to happen in Australia.

The International Shark Attack File, maintained by the Florida Museum of Natural History, lists 12 unprovoked shark bites that occurred in 2021.

Although they don't actively seek out humans to hunt, shark encounters can be fatal.

A shark might approach a surfer out of curiosity or because it thought the surfer looked like something it might want to eat.

The Stalking Shark

In the incident in New South Wales, the plane crashed into the water just yards from the beach after flying too low to climb again.

Ballard went to see how the passengers were doing and spoke to one of them after catching a wave that helped bring him to shore.

Ballard said that the female passenger on the plane kept mentioning that the shark was the biggest they had ever seen and that it was so close to Ballard.

It was probably about 20 feet long.

Ballard felt incredibly grateful to the passengers, who he compared to guardian angels who came to his rescue.

Neither of the passengers was seriously hurt in the collision.

Don't Misunderstand.

Although the species of the shark was not confirmed, Leonardo Guida, a shark expert at the Australian Marine Conservation Society, claimed that several species, including the famous "big three" sharks-the white, tiger, and bull sharks-call this region of Australia home.

Guida explained that dolphins and sharks frequently congregate in the same area because they frequently pursue the same prey or hunt in comparable habitats.

It's generally true that animals prefer to avoid conflict whenever possible, so the dolphins may be keeping a safe distance and keeping an eye on a potential rival while still being able to eat plenty of fish.

He continued that although he is neither an expert on dolphins nor does he understand what they are thinking, the dolphins possibly saw the surfer as a potential threat to their food supply, and that's why they "pushed" him to shore rather than shielding him from a shark.

According to Guida, large schools of fish, such as salmon, are a major attraction for sharks.

They produce a lot and are relatively simple to catch food.

The juvenile white shark was possibly in the area doing what it naturally does, which is following the school of fish.

Australian salmon are one of the types of fish that can make up about a third of the food intake of juvenile white sharks on the east coast, Newsweek reported.