A great white shark put on a spectacular display for California beachgoers over the weekend, leaping from the water off Marina state beach and photobombing visitors.
Videos circulating online show a great white shark launching several feet out of the water in the background as a group of friends pose for photos along the beach.
In a statement to the Guardian, California state park officials said: “California State Parks independently confirmed a shark matching the characteristics of a great white [breached] off the shore near Marina State Beach at the same time as the video.
“Posted shark notices are in effect at the beach in accordance with the department’s protocol. State Parks would like to remind visitors that sharks are an important part of the coastal ecosystem and that interactions between people and sharks are rare,” the officials added.
Great white sharks frequent Monterey Bay seasonally, traveling to offshore waters near Hawaii before returning to California’s coast in late summer and early fall. The Central Coast provides important habitat for the predators, which feed on fish and marine mammals, including seals.
In recent years, great white shark sightings have increased along parts of the west coast, with changing ocean conditions amid the climate crisis influencing their migratory patterns.
El Niño events, which can bring marine heatwaves and warmer-than-usual ocean temperatures, can disrupt marine ecosystems, prompting cold-water species such as the great white to shift northward or move into deeper waters in search of cooler temperatures.
Classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), great white sharks can grow up to 20ft (6 metres) long and weigh as much as 4,000lb (1,800kg) . As apex predators and keystone species, they play a vital role in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems by regulating prey populations, redistributing nutrients and helping limit the spread of disease by consuming sick or injured prey.
Yet despite their critical ecological roles, great whites have long been misrepresented as man-eating predators, a portrayal popularized by films such as Jaws that have threatened their conservation.
Despite their fearsome reputation, the species has faced steep population declines, exceeding 90% in some regions during the 20th century. Recreational and commercial fishing, by-catch, illegal poaching and trafficking, habitat degradation and the climate crisis continue to threaten their survival.