Holidaymakers down in Cornwall were greeted by a surprising visitor in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
At around 6.30am, a huge basking shark was filmed swimming around St Ives harbour by tourist, Olga Bates, who was visiting the area with family from Wales. She told Cornwall Live that the animal was ‘gorgeous’.
‘He was longer than the boats which you can see in the video so must have been quite a few metres long. I just thought it was absolutely massive,’ Bates added.
Many basking sharks roam UK waters feeding on plankton and small crustaceans, so sightings aren’t uncommon. However, this big guy was particularly close to the shore, so spectators were treated to a rare close-up.
Despite being the second largest species of shark, these creatures are known to be pretty docile and pose little threat to humans. They can grow up to 45 feet, earning them the nickname of ‘gentle giants’.
It follows a suspected blue shark sighting in Cornwall last month. That one stayed a little further away from the shore, and many speculated that it actually could have been a seal or a dolphin.
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