Laurence Dollimore
THIS is the moment a hammerhead shark was reportedly spotted swimming off the coast of southern Spain this week.
In a video shared on social media on Tuesday, the animal can be seen gliding through the waters between La Alcaidesa and Sotogrande.
The area is just next to the Costa del Sol and along the neighbouring Costa de la Luz in Cadiz.
The video was uploaded by local Facebook group Turismo Running.
While the sea creature can appear menacing, regional experts commenting on the video called for calm.
Gonzalo Suarez Garcia, who is studying biotechnology at the University of Cordoba wrote: “For those who think it is dangerous… know that hammerhead sharks are generally one of the most peaceful and curious species of sharks.
“In general, the cinema has destroyed the image of sharks. Like any animal, they can attack if they feel threatened, but a hammerhead is not going to attack you under normal conditions.
“Normally, the most ‘dangerous’ sharks (with lots of quotation marks) are bull, tiger and white sharks, which stand out for being more territorial and aggressive.
“These sharks rarely attack humans, especially surfers who they mistake for prey. In this case, if the surfer is bitten, the shark detects that he is not its prey and lets go (hence the fact that most attacks involve leg amputations and they are not devoured whole, since if a shark eats you, it will eat you whole, not just an arm) but fortunately, hammerhead sharks do not have the behaviour more characteristic of bull, tiger and white sharks.”
It comes after a smaller hammerhead shark was seen in the port of a major tourist resort in August this year.
The sighting occurred at the Las Palmas port in Gran Canaria, near the Santa Catalina Pier.
Footage shared online showed the creature swimming around in the waters.
The port’s official X account wrote: “In the port we sometimes have little friends who visit our inland waters.
“This hammerhead shark has strolled through the waters of the Santa Catalina dock.
“Its visit is a good indicator of the quality of the waters of our ports, as well as the marine biodiversity of the island.”
The sighting was branded ‘spectacular’ by the port’s police, who insisted the animal does not cause a danger unless it feels threatened.
