Texas man records unnerving video of large hammerhead shark thrashing in shallow waters off coast
The viral cellphone video of the massive hammerhead shark has racked up more than 3.6 million views on social media
Watch: Texas man records scary video of large hammerhead shark thrashing in shallow waters near Galveston
A Texas man was able to record video of a large hammerhead shark thrashing in the shallow waters of a bay off San Luis Pass in Galveston County, Texas, last week, and his video is going viral on social media.
GALVESTON COUNTY, Texas – A new video of a hammerhead shark swimming in the bay off San Luis Pass in Galveston County, Texas, is gaining millions of views on TikTok.
According to Jason Schilling, he and his friends had been fishing last week near San Luis Pass. FOX 26 Houston reports that at some point, Schilling said he heard some splashing near their spot just north of the San Luis Pass bridge. That's when Schilling said he saw a large hammerhead shark swimming with its head above water.
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"I hear this big splash behind me. It’s a big hammerhead shark sticking out of the water," he said.
Schilling said he grabbed his phone and started recording. In his cellphone video, you can see the shark swimming and thrashing in only about knee-deep water. Schilling said the hammerhead was massive.
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"It was probably at least 10 feet," he said. "They said it looked like around 11 foot. You don’t see that very often. Them coming up that close to the shore."
"The major function that a place like San Luis pass is [for sharks] is a means to move between Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico," said Dr. Phillip Matich, a marine biologist with Texas A&M Galveston.
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Over the last 100 years or so, the International Shark Attack File reports 45 unprovoked shark attacks along the Texas coast. Of those 45, 19 were along Galveston County shores.
"It’s a very infrequent encounter," said Dr. Matich. "But, at the same time, it’s important to respect wildlife just like you would with any other predator."
Since uploading the hammerhead clip to TikTok last week, more than 3.6 million people have watched Schilling’s video.
"I thought it was crazy," said Schilling. "Just couldn’t believe [sharks] come up that shallow."