The shark attacks near Lake Powell made national headlines. However, a new video has been released. The footage shows a shark near a Florida beach weeks before the devastating attack. What does this mean? Could the attacks have been prevented? Watch the video of the shark darting after beachgoers.
Shark Near Florida Beach, A Prediction Of What Was To Come
The short 31-second video clip shows beachgoers encountering a shark at Lake Powell. First, a person on what appears to be a jetski sees a dark shape darting underneath them in the water. That dark shape turned out to be a shark. Next, the shark shoots towards the shore, scaring the nearby beachgoers.
The shark appeared to dart towards the people knee-deep in the water, scattering them all. From there, it could be seen swimming parallel to the shoreline. This video clip was captured just two weeks before the shark attacks near Lake Powell made headlines across the nation.
The Person Behind The Camera
Screenshot from Andrew Cady's Facebook.
A man by the name of Andrew Cady claimed credit for the video and gave even more context to it in a recent Facebook post. His post said the following.
"With the recent shark attacks in my home town, this video hits so much closer to home. This was two weeks ago at the Lake Powell Inlet. My daughter shot the video. As we were coming back from the gulf into the Inlet we spotted a shark coming in right beside us. We yelled for everyone to get out of the water. What wasn't captured on video was the shark charging a father carrying his young daughter. If you look at the very beginning of the video you see him trip and fall in the water with his daughter in arms. The shark was heading straight for him and changed directions literally feet from them. We play in their world. Stay safe out there Walton."
While Cady and his daughters captured this video before the shark attacks, he did not post this video of a shark near a Florida beach until after his hometown became a national headline.
Can Shark Attacks Be Predicted?
After seeing this video released, some people were skeptical. Could the horrendous shark attacks been predicted if this video had been released sooner? Innotechtoday suggests that shark attacks may not be as random as they seem. They state, "There are some scientists who believe they [meaning shark attacks] can be as predictable as the weather." That theory is elaborated further in the documentary Forecast Shark Attack, which shows that "shark attacks are correlated with certain coastal weather patterns."
While sharing this video before the attacks most likely would not have prevented them, helping spread more awareness about sharks can help mitigate the number of attacks. The more information we learn about predicting shark attacks can help keep people safe when enjoying the ocean waters.
