New Zealand tourist captures moment bronze whaler shark leaps out of water on whale watching tour
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Whale watchers were stunned after capturing the perfect moment when a shimmering shark leapt out of the water like a dolphin
- Tourist on a New Zealand whale-watching boat captures the moment a bronze whale shark jumped into the water
- Marine biologists on the ship said they had never seen the sight before and others assumed it was a dolphin.
- The tour boat was near Waiheke Island off the Auckland coast, known for whales, dolphins and sharks.
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A group of whale watching tourists in New Zealand were treated to a spectacular sight when a shark leaped completely out of the water like a dolphin, and one passenger managed to capture the exact moment on camera.
Andrew Williams was on the tour with Auckland Whale & Dolphin Safari on December 22 before his wedding the next day when tour operators received information on the location of some bronze whale sharks.
The school swam around a fishing boat near Waiheke Island off the Auckland coast and the tour group got a glimpse of them below the surface, until one decided to get a little closer.
New Zealand tourist Andrew Williams captured the exact moment this bronze whale shark leapt out of the water (pictured)
The image was shared on the tour group’s Facebook page this week with the caption: “Breaching bronzie… This shark is a bronze whaler and is commonly seen in New Zealand by both boats and divers.”
It is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN because it is slow to mature and can take up to 20 years to reproduce. It is not a common sighting aboard the Dolphin Explorer, but it is special.
Williams said that he happened to have his phone’s camera pointed in the right direction and, like a reflex, he managed to grab the lens at exactly the right moment.
He added that some of the ship’s crew had never seen the bronze whalers breach before and that many of the passengers initially thought they were dolphins.
Mr Williams said Stuff the tour was a “perfect day,” but he added that he couldn’t say it was the highlight of his entire trip because he married his partner the next day.
“It was the highlight of my life as a single man,” he joked.
The bronze whaler, also called the copper shark, is found in waters off New Zealand, around southern Australia, Japan, South Africa, and small parts of the North and South American coast.
They can measure more than three meters in length, they feed on small fish and although it is very rare for them to attack humans, there are registered cases.
He said many of his fellow whale watchers assumed it was a dolphin jumping out of the water (file image)