A Florida diver and photographer came face-to-face with a massive, pregnant bull shark and spent almost an hour snapping pictures as it fed on bait fish.
Capt. John Moore, 55, is an experienced diver and photographer. He was free diving miles off the coast of South Florida when he came face-to-face with a massive, pregnant bull shark, oversized for its species.
“She was kinda unique in that she came powering right up through the other bulls. She was super dominant, just kind of right in the forefront of everything. She was swimming right up to my mask and just kind of sizing up what was going on out there. She was just so impressive,” Moore said.
John Moore says the shark came close enough he could see its razor-sharp teeth and yellow-tinted eyes. For 45 minutes, he drifted just inches from the apex predator, snapping pictures as it fed on bait fish.
Moore says the shark came close enough he could see its razor-sharp teeth and yellow-tinted eyes. For 45 minutes, he drifted just inches from the apex predator, snapping pictures as it fed on bait fish.
“She looked like she was ready to pop. She was almost round she was so big,” Moore said.
A conservation activist, Moore hopes his photos will bring awareness about a species that many people fear.
Moore’s close range photos show just how massive the bull shark was. At 6 feet himself, he appeared tiny next to the shark.
“A lot of people hear the word ‘bull shark,’ and they think ‘scary, intimidating predator.’ I don’t see them like that at all,” he said. “It really is nothing. What I do, I don’t see as being any more dangerous than what a lot of other people do.”
Bull sharks are believed to be one of the most aggressive sharks in the ocean, especially if food is present. They are heavy-bodied sharks and travel in packs. They typically range from 5 to 14 feet long and can weigh over 1,500 pounds, but the shark Moore encountered was much larger.
Florida has the highest concentration of large sharks along its surrounding coastline than anywhere else on the East Coast.
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