Great white shark thrashes, lunges at woman after she reaches out to pet the marine apex predator

A great white shark lunged and thrashed after a woman reached out from a fishing boat to pet the marine apex predator, according to footage shared by Knot Lucky Fishing. Jimmy Armel, founder of the organization, said the crew kept the shark under control and that the woman was never in real danger. In a Facebook post, the group described the moment when one of its veterans placed a hand on a wild white shark, only for the animal to whip around and surge toward her. The video, captured through Knot Lucky Fishing’s White Shark Tagging Program with Starbrite, Project SeaSafe and Gray FishTag Research, focuses on catching, tagging and releasing great whites off Tybee Island. The program, based in Savannah, Georgia, takes veterans, active-duty service members and their families on free trips. The shark in this case could not be tagged due to safety concerns for both crew and shark.