Woman reaches out to pet great white shark off Georgia

Summarised from 3 outlets · Updated 28 Oct, 21:15 · Archive

A woman petting a great white shark during a tagging program lunged at by the animal off the Georgia coast.

A woman named Jen was petting a great white shark caught off Tybee Island, Georgia, when the animal suddenly thrashed and lunged at her. The shark missed her hand by inches and struck the boat instead. Video of the incident was released by Knot Lucky Fishing, a Georgia-based charity that runs fishing trips for veterans, active-duty service members and their families.

Jen was part of the organisation's White Shark Tagging Program, which works with partner organisations to catch, tag and release great white sharks for research purposes. Each shark is named after a fallen ranger or service member. According to Jimmy Armel, the founder of Knot Lucky Fishing, the organisation had tagged ten sharks so far, with more expected to arrive off the coast that winter.

The shark in the video was not tagged due to safety concerns for the crew and the animal itself. Armel said in a Facebook post: 'One second Jen, one of our veterans, is laying her hand on a wild white shark like it's the family dog, and the next second that shark whips around and lunges toward her. Everybody on the boat felt that one in their chest.'

Armel later stated that Jen was never in real danger. 'The crew had that shark under control the whole time, and it never got close enough to do any harm,' he said, noting that the incident served as 'a reminder of exactly what these animals are. Beautiful. Powerful. Wild.'

How it is being reported

• Great white shark lunges at woman leaning down to pet apex predator in shocking interactionA gobsmacking video showing a great white shark lunging at a woman who was leaning down to pet the apex predator has gone viral. The shocking interaction was circulated by Knot Lucky Fishing, a Georgia-based charity which works to support veterans suffering from PTSD as well as active-duty servicemen. In the footage, one of the veterans, Jen, laid her hand on the wild shark "like it's the family dog" before the predator ferociously turned and lunges towards her, misses and hits the boat instead. "Everybody on the boat felt that one in their chest," the charity's founder, Jimmy Armel, added.…GB News · 28 Oct, 21:09
• Great white shark thrashes, lunges at woman after she reaches out to pet the marine apex predatorA woman had a close call with a great white shark when she reached off a fishing boat to pet the marine apex, leading the shark to thrash around and lunge.New York Post · 28 Oct, 06:43
• Terrifying moment great white shark off the coast of Georgia lunges at woman as she dangles her arm over the side of boatJen, a veteran crew member, was seen petting a great white shark the team had reeled in for its tagging program, which collects data on the sharks' travel patterns.Daily Mail · 27 Oct, 20:34

In this story: Jen · Jimmy Armel · Knot Lucky Fishing · Tybee Island · Georgia · Savannah

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