A great white shark bled to death after lunging at divers in a cage and becoming trapped between the bars.
Distressing video shows the shark bleeding profusely before its lifeless corpse sinks at Guadalupe Island, in the north-western Mexican state of Baja California.
Mexican environmentalist Arturo Islas Allende uploaded the video on social media. He said the area is considered “the most important great white shark sanctuary on the planet”.
In the video, the huge shark, which is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List , can be seen approaching the cage with at least four divers inside.
The shark swims up to the cage at speed but gets caught between the bars.
Distressing footage captured the moment the shark became stuck ( Image: CEN/@arturooislas)
The shark died after getting stuck in the bars for 25 minutes ( Image: CEN/@arturooislas)
The huge animal begins thrashing and blood quickly appears from around its gills.
A second clip shows the shark’s motionless body dropping from the cage into the depths.
The shark reportedly died in the incident and Arturo lamented the situation as the “great white shark is an animal that is protected under international laws”.
According to Nautilus, great white sharks do not usually behave violently ( Image: CEN/@arturoislaallende)
The owner of the ship involved in the incident, Nautilus, said in a statement that the accident took place on October 9.
They added it was “totally extraordinary” and involved a great white shark that was “strangely aggressive, attacking one of the cages used by our company to dive at Guadalupe Island”.
According to Nautilus, great white sharks do not usually behave violently and it was the first case that they have suffered in more than 16 years.
They said the trip was done with the regulator of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas, Beatriz Guadalupe Torres Gonzalez.
They said she verified that the ship was following the current law and has been granted all the permissions relating to the preservation of the great white shark.
source: mirror.co.uk
