A brave dad has gone head to head with a bronze whaler shark, wrestling it in the water, as stunned onlookers watched on in disbelief. Tristan Turner was fishing with his two sons off the jetty in Kangaroo Island, South Australia, where they live when they accidentally hooked the massive shark, prompting the daring dad to jump into action.
While the shark, said to be up to three metres long, was eventually released back into the ocean safely, Turner first had to remove the hook from its mouth – and what followed amazed spectators. Video capturing the incident shows the shirtless dad splashing around in knee-deep water, wrangling the restless shark and holding it by its tail as the animal attempts to free itself from the man’s grip.
Bronze whaler sharks are often spotted close to shore around Australian beaches and are not considered aggressive. However, there are some fatalities caused by the species on record. Turner didn’t appear concerned by the close encounter however.
Dad fulfils dream, takes shark ‘for a ride’
The incident occurred over the Easter weekend in April however footage has recently emerged on social media. After wrestling the shark in order to safely remove the hook, the dad appeared to guide it back out to the ocean. But not without another daring stunt to impress the crowd that had gathered around him.
In one video, Turner was seen gripping the shark’s dorsal fin before the pair dove underwater out of sight, a stunt that attracted laughter from his family. Turner told 7News he’d always wanted to swim with a shark in the ocean, and so he took the chance while he had it.
“People that know me [know] I love the water and some out there stuff,” he told the network on Sunday. “It has always been a dream of mine to swim with one and I had the opportunity when I let it go to hang onto its fin and I went for a ride.”
On Facebook where the video was shared, social media users applauded the dad for his bravery. He was even dubbed a “legend” and “Aquaman” by some, referring to the popular fictional character.
Previously, a group of Perth fishermen detailed their terrifying encounter with a bronze whaler after it attempted to bite into their boat’s propeller. Also in WA, another group were praised for their quick-thinking, jumping into the ocean to help a distressed shark with “six hooks” in its mouth.
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