A diver swimming off the coast of Indonesia’s Komodo Island experienced the thrill of a lifetime when a rare ocean beast decided to make an appearance.
The beast was a megamouth shark and it came incredibly close to diver Penny Bielich, according to Fox News. When Bielich saw it, she reportedly grabbed her camera to record before it vanished into the depths of the ocean.
The video showed the shark casually swimming through the water, coming close to Bielich before turning and swimming away.
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The megamouth shark is a relatively new discovery. According National Geographic, it was fist discovered in 1976 and has since been spotted in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
What makes this particular sighting so spectacular is that only about 100 of the sharks have been observed. In fact, little is known about the elusive creatures.
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It is similar to a whale shark, in that it has a giant mouth and small teeth.
Take a look at this video to see just how big this shark’s mouth is:
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That’s what you call a close encounter.
Little is known about the megamouth, but it is believed that the sharks can grow to be 17 feet long.
The shark may look intimidating but it is reportedly not a threat to humans. They are “filter feeders,” according to the Florida Museum of Natural History, and eat mainly plankton and krill.
The megamouth shark is not particularly active when it comes to sharks and is a poor swimmer due to its soft body and asymmetrical tail.
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This diver is one of the few people in the world that will get to see this animal up close. What an awesome experience!
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