Theory behind the incredibly rare sighting 500 m off a famous Australian beach

An extremely rare event was filmed near one of Australia’s most popular tourist attractions. A 1.8-metre-long great white shark was spotted just 500 metres from Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Monday.

On the same day, a second strange event was documented. Alex, the suburb’s resident seal, swam out of the sea and temporarily settled on the sand. Many locals suspect that the two events may be connected.

“Now I know why Alex the seal swam ashore,” wrote one local after seeing a video of the shark online. “The modern shark alert: when one seal is ashore, everyone swims ashore,” joked another.

While linking the two events is pure speculation, marine biologist Lawrence Chlebeck of the Humane Society International told Yahoo News it is “entirely conceivable” that Alex fled the water to escape a shark.

“The seals’ behaviour is largely determined by the predators in the area. They have a very keen sense of smell and taste and can definitely detect whether sharks are in the area better than we can,” he said.

“You can’t say for sure, but it’s definitely possible.”

How Bondi Beach locals became aware of the great white shark

The people of Bondi only became aware of the shark’s presence after drone footage was uploaded to social media.

While the apex predators are known to live in waters further out, it’s rare to see them so close to Bondi Beach, where the seabed is sandy and fish are scarce. Although local Jason Iggleton surveys the suburb’s waters most mornings, it’s the first time he’s seen one since 2019.

“I assume there are great white sharks out there. You just don’t see them. Maybe it was a really hungry little shark that took the bait,” he told Yahoo News.

Related: Does the risk of a shark attack increase when you are furthest out at sea?

Why was the great white shark on the hook?

Iggleton’s video shows the shark being freed from a reel line it was attached to near Mark’s Park at the southern end of Bondi Beach. Two men can be seen tying the shark to the side of the boat and then releasing it.

The young shark is visible for just a few seconds before disappearing into the murky water. Great white sharks are known to swim great distances and Iggleton believes it may have left the area by now.

Drum lines are baited with mullet to catch sharks that venture close to shore, but some believe that this does not protect sharks rather than attract them closer to shore. However, the Department of Primary Industries, which implements the NSW Shark Conservation Program, argues that there is no evidence to support this claim.

In the case of this great white shark, Iggleton believes it may also have been attracted by a sudden influx of wild salmon spotted nearby.

How rare are sharks on Bondi Beach?

DPI confirmed to Yahoo News that a great white shark was caught on a drumline in 2019. And since this year, 14 more have been caught between Cronulla and Palm Beach.

“In addition, great white sharks have been spotted at marked shark listening stations in Cronulla, Maroubra, Bondi, Manly, North Narrabeen and Palm Beach,” a DPI spokesperson said.

“These discoveries are then sent to the public in near real time via the SharkSmart app and Twitter feed. Since 1991, eleven great white sharks have also been caught in shark nets in Bondi and nearby Bronte.”

The DPI warned beachgoers that great white sharks can be found “anywhere along our coast and at any time of year,” but noted that migrations of juvenile sharks have also been observed throughout the year.

“More than 1,173 great white sharks have been tagged by the DPI since 2015, and thanks to the network of 37 satellite-based shark listening stations, researchers can now identify a general pattern of movement,” a spokesperson added.

“Our tagging program has shown that most young great white sharks head north in late fall to overwinter. Then in late spring and early summer they head south again, back to the cooler waters of the southern states.”

Mysterious behavior of great white sharks

According to the CSIRO, the population of great white sharks on the east coast of Australia and as far as New Zealand is estimated to number only 750 adult animals.

There is still a lot to learn about this species, but greater numbers of great white sharks do not mean more attacks on humans.

In Florida, Australia and South Africa, attacks occur on beaches where numbers are lower. However, in California, surfers often swim alongside them without being bitten, and that’s something he’s observed repeatedly on the south coast of New South Wales.

“I see some great white sharks down there and sharks swimming right past the surfers,” Iggleton claimed.

“I saw a surfer fall off the wave and almost land on a wave. The shark just darted away. Some of the smaller ones can be quite shy.

“You have to be careful of the larger ones in deeper water. But then the smaller ones are known to test-bite a swimmer, and that can be fatal.”

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