Southern California's beaches may be in for a "sharky summer," and one recent drone-captured encounter showed exactly why experts are paying attention.
According to The Inertia, a juvenile great white shark swam up to inspect a kayaker's camera setup and bit it, before quickly darting away. The footage offers a striking glimpse into what scientists say is shaping up to be a busier-than-usual season for shark sightings.
Maritime scientists have warned Southern California to expect elevated shark activity this summer after an unusually high number of sightings in the spring. According to The Inertia, warmer-than-normal water and an incoming El Niño helped set the stage for the surge, and researchers believe the trend could continue through the season.
Drone videographer Carlos Gauna (@themalibuartist) said he began noticing the increase months ago. "This year, there's been a big uptick in sharks," he told NBCLA in March, while also writing on YouTube that what he was seeing from the air was "very different from years past."
Since then, Gauna has posted almost a dozen videos showing increased shark activity along the Southern California coast.
In this particular instance, however, the footage showed the shark moving in to check out Gauna's kayak and the GoPro rig behind him. The young shark appeared to investigate the camera, lodging it into its mouth, then it quickly swam away, leaving the equipment intact enough for the footage to be recovered.
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An increase in shark sightings can be unsettling, but they also serve as a reminder that ocean conditions are changing. Warmer coastal waters can draw juvenile white sharks into shallow areas where people also tend to swim and paddle, increasing the odds of close encounters even when the animals are not acting aggressively.
That overlap between humans and wildlife is part of the broader story. Seasonal events such as El Niño play a role, but longer-term ocean warming linked to human-caused pollution can also reshape where marine animals feed, travel, and linger.
Drone footage has repeatedly shown that many sharks pass near shore without incident and that people often have no idea they are nearby. That means awareness matters more than panic.
Researchers, drone operators, and local observers are helping to build a clearer picture of shark activity along the Southern California coast. Gauna's videos are part of that effort, offering a noninvasive look at animal behavior and giving the public a better understanding of what these encounters look like.
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For residents and visitors, the best response is caution, not fear. Checking local beach conditions, staying near lifeguards, avoiding areas where wildlife is actively feeding, and giving marine animals plenty of space can all reduce risk. If a shark is spotted, calmly leaving the water is generally wiser than creating a commotion.
For now, Southern Californians may need to get used to sharing the water a bit more carefully this summer.
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