An Australian community organization unit has made a public appeal for information following a family’s alarming sighting at a beach.
When I was a child, every trip to the beach involved pestering the adults about what kinds of creatures might be lurking in the water before I even considered dipping a toe in. Recent images from a beach between Bonbeach and Chelsea in Melbourne, Australia, validate my childhood concerns.
SES Chelsea Unit posted the images on Facebook last year. The first image shows a general beach scene, zoomed in the second reveals a family—comprising a dad and child, another parent and child, a dog, and two men farther out in the water.
If you haven’t noticed, the image highlights a fin lying quite close to the beachgoers.
The photo caption reads: “As many of you would be aware, yesterday, we posted about a shark sighting, just off the beach, between Bonbeach and Chelsea.”
“Well later, we received a message from a family, who follow our page, who were at Carrum Beach, earlier in the morning. It was their little ones first visit to the beach, and the gentleman’s partner grabbed a couple of snaps to record the day.”
“Later, when they got home, and looked at the pictures, they noticed something in the shallow water, just behind them, was this our shark?”
SES Chelsea Unit mentions that upon seeing the pictures, they were uncertain about the sighting and consulted various experts for opinions.
“They all agree that although they can’t confirm it’s a shark, they can’t say that it’s not,” the post continues. “So, what do you think. The family are very genuine, and in fairness, they’re the first to admit that they’re not sure what they snapped, but they certainly would like to know. So if anyone has any genuine ideas of what it might be, please let us know.”
Comments flooded in with various suggestions.
One Facebook user suggested: “Possibly the banjo shark around Stefan’s ankles that same day?”
“Let’s say it’s a 20cm dorsal fin, for size percent based on bronze whaler that’s only a 1.5 – 1.8m shark. If it’s a 30cm dorsal that’s a 2.3 – 2.6m shark which on one that big would be a belly to bottom of dorsal height of about 45cm swimming in 60cm of water. So a 1.8m shark of that species with a fairly slender belly could easily go unnoticed and would have been far too small to take a German Shepard let alone a person,” another commented.
Another user argued: “A dog… it’s a dog.. Ps banjo sharks are not actual sharks, they are a Ray.”
A different user speculated: “I mean this is not a small shark, but a baby whale. Shark is not that dark. Something is.”
Yet another user proposed: “It’s the back of someone’s head who is laying down in the shallows.”
Finally, one person concluded: “Better to be safe than sorry.”
What do you think?