A California man posted a terrifying video of himself being stalked by a shark miles off the coast of Santa Barbara.
On Saturday, Ron Takeda and a friend named Tavis were traveling from UC Santa Barbara to Carpinteria on hydrofoil boards, which have an underwater wing designed to lift the board above the surface, significantly reducing drag. These watercraft can generate enough forward motion to travel in light wind.
Tavis posted the video, which was taken from a mounted camera. He could be heard yelling 'don't fall' and 'don't stop' to Takeda, who was behind him.
'The shark followed Ron closely for over two miles. In time, that's about 10-12 minutes,' Tavis wrote in the video caption. 'It was a full game of cat and mouse, but...with a 10-11ft shark.'
Takeda, who has posted several videos of himself hydrofoiling, also recounted the incident in a post on Facebook.
He first knew something was off when he heard 'splashing and gurgling' behind his board. When he looked back, he said he saw 'a big girthy dark torpedo shape following me with trailing whitewater'.
He assumed it was a dolphin and yelled about it to Tavis, who shouted back that it was a shark. From then on, Takeda was 'highly motivated' not to fall.
A roughly 10- to 11-foot shark chased Ron Takeda through the ocean for over 10 minutes as he cruised through the ocean on a hydrofoil board
Takeda and his friend, Tavis, were traveling from UC Santa Barbara to Carpinteria. Eventually the shark lost interest and they were able to make it to their destination without incident
'Most of the time it seemed like the shark was either two feet behind or actually underneath between my board tail and foil, he wrote. 'The shark thrashed hard to match every turn and speed back to me.'
Takeda hoped the creature would get bored of chasing him but found himself getting concerned when it did not lose interest.
'Long periods would go by and I'd think he left…but then I'd hear the water coming off its dorsal again or I'd hear a sucking sound,' he wrote.
The shark eventually did leave the pair alone and they were able to finish the remaining 12 miles of their trip.
It's not clear what kind of shark was chasing them, but a scientist with the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory told SFGate that the area they were traveling in has one of Southern California's largest juvenile great white shark populations.
The scientist, Neil Nathan, said young great whites prefer to stay closer to the coast, where the water is warmer. This allows them to more easily regulate their body temperature.
El Niño conditions are expected to begin between May and July in California, which will make the water warmer. This may lead to more sharks returning to the area earlier.
'We may also see range expansion further north, which has been observed in previous years with marine heatwaves,' Nathan told SFGate. 'Areas such as Monterey Bay or Bodega Bay that historically did not have juvenile white sharks due to cold temperatures have since hosted juvenile aggregation sites.'
It's unclear what kind of shark was chasing Takeda, but a scientist that spoke with SFGate said it was likely a juvenile great white. The area of ocean they were traveling in has a growing population of these sharks because the water is warmer than usual
Beachgoers in Southern California have noticed more great whites as of late, with Huntington Beach closing on Thursday last week due to a sighting of a 10-foot shark.
And in March, authorities confirmed a sighting of an 8-foot great white shark off the coast of Newport Beach.
Lifeguards closed the beach for one mile east and west of the shark's location.