A video shows the exact moment the shark breached and snapped at the man's legs.
In a video that will give nightmares to anyone suffering from shark phobia, a great white shark was filmed breaching and snapping its jaws at a researcher's feet as he stood on a boat. The video was filmed off the coast of Massachusetts and shared on Facebook by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy about 16 hours ago. It has since gone viral with over two lakh views and thousands of shares.
According to the Boston Globe, the video shows biologist Greg Skomal standing on the pulpit of a research boat. Mr Skomal holds a long pole with a GoPro camera attached to capture footage of the shark. However, the shark leaps out of the water and snaps at his toes, startling him.
"Did you see that? Did you see that?" Mr Skomal can be heard saying in the video. "It came right up, and opened its mouth right at my feet!"
"While encounters like this one are rare, this video shows that they're certainly possible," wrote the conservancy while sharing the terrifying video. "White sharks are wild and unpredictable animals," they said, warning everyone to stay vigilant while in water.
Watch the video below:
Since being shared online 16 hours ago, the video has collected hundreds of comments.
"Omg...that is so JAWS like!" writes one commenter, comparing the video to the 1975 blockbuster. "Phenomenal! Heart must've been racing!" says another.
This isn't the first time that Greg Skomal has had a terrifying encounter. Last year, a video showed a 12-foot shark attacking his underwater camera.
Last month, another shocking shark video showed a woman getting dragged into the water by sharks she was trying to feed by hand.
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