Jaws it ain't! The rescue moment was captured by photographer Ruth Fahey.
When a surfer comes face to face with a shark it usually doesn’t end well, a fact that has made the shark the loathsome enemy of surfers, but one lucky shark owes its life to some plucky surfers who pulled out all the stops to help it!
A three metre long great white shark was spotted washed up on a mid-north coast beach in New South Wales by surfer Andrew Eckersley.
Most surfers would be forgiven for refusing to get involved, but Mr Eckersley went to the shark’s aid and helped by other kind-hearted surfers, they started the battle to get it back into the ocean.
“It was pretty scary at first … it was pretty big. I wouldn’t have been able to put my fingers together if I was giving it a cuddle.” Said Mr Eckersley talking to the Daily Telegraph. Not that he was offering to cuddle the great beast!
One surfer started pouring water over the animal’s back whilst Mr Eckersley started digging away the sand from the ocean side so that the animal could be rolled back into the ocean. Then using logs they found on the beach they started levering the shark gently towards the water, taking care to keep their arms out of the way of the shark’s huge teeth. “There was the thoughts that while we were getting the logs under it that I might pinch it or something and it would lunge at me,” admitted Mr Eckersley.
When the logs failed the pair resorted to pulling the shark gently and carefully using sheer manpower. Once they managed to get the shark into deeper water it began to move around, helping in its own rescue.
The dramatic rescue was captured by photographer Ruth Fahey who thought at first that it was a dolphin washed up on the beach but soon realised it was a great white and captured this wonderful moment.
Eventually the waters were deep enough for the shark to swim off and the surfers retired, happy that they had made a friend of a previous enemy. Unfortunately the story didn’t have a happy ending as the shark was discovered washed up on the very same beach the next day.
In a macabre twist it was revealed to have had its jaw hacked out by a gruesome souvenir hunter. An undignified end to a magnificent beast.
However the fact that the shark beached itself twice within 24 hours suggests that it was already sick and possibly dying, so tragically there was only one way the story could have ended. But it does show that the kindness of humans can overcome even the most bitter of barriers and enemies in need can be just as vulnerable as the most timid of beasts.
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