Man Discovers Great White Shark Was Circling Beneath Him While Kayaking

A man discovered that a great white shark was circling beneath him while kayaking alone off the coast of Australia.

Ocean photographer and kayaker Andy Burnell had been kayaking about a mile offshore from Grange Beach, Adelaide at the time.

Burnell uses a baited GoPro to catch his underwater footage, which he calls 'Crabecam'. This is what he did in this instance. But it was not until he arrived home that he realized a great white shark had been circling beneath him.

The footage captured by Burnell shows nothing but murky water at first. The shark can then be seen passing by the camera lens in the distance.

A second shot then shows the shark swimming right in front of the camera lens. The shark then appears to swim directly towards the camera, before changing direction at the last minute.

"[I] got home, downloaded footage, starting skimming it [and] was like WHAT....great white shark! The water is only [22 feet] deep but it was murky on the top so I didn't see anything and she was right underneath me for over 5 minutes just following along and checking out the camera," Burnell told Newsweek. " No bait on camera just the camera How lucky! How awesome! Just a beautiful baby great white shark full of curiosity about the little camera bobbing along!"

Great white sharks often flock to Southern Australia waters in the warmer months. As Australia enters the hot summer months, more sharks will be swimming around coastal areas. According to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from January, the number of sharks seen swimming off Adelaide had increased in recent months.

Juvenile great white sharks such as this are usually only seen in shallow waters. Great white sharks, although an elusive species, raise their young in "nurseries" which are shallow, protected areas away from predators.

"I'm just really excited that I got to capture that footage. I love crabecam footage and one reason is it is not me telling you what I saw. It is us on an equal footing just sharing some insights into marine life that the camera captured!" Burnell said. "The other reason I love it and what I get first is the surprise! I never know what I've got until I get home, is it nothing, is it awesome, is it a White Shark! Such a great surprise! I've captured all sorts of creatures and the blue crabs are the stars!"

Sharks pose very little danger to humans but conflicts can occur during the warm summer months when more people are out swimming. A shark will not usually attack a human unless it is provoked, or mistakes it for something else.