A MASSIVE shark was filmed floating about the waters of Bournemouth as beachgoers basked in the sunshine metres away.
Surfer Christian Pepin spotted the sea beast from the safety of the pier and caught footage of the predator lurking in the shallows.
The shadow of the shark was seen from the pier
The creature lurked around with beachgoers nearby
Christian posted the video to the Surfers of Bournemouth Pier Facebook group, attracting much fanfare with it being shared over a thousand times.
The video shows the shadow of the shark with its long tail flapping around as waves crash over it.
The beach is packed with people, with swimmers seen paddling nearby completely unaware of the scary creature in their vicinity.
Video viewers quickly speculated on what species of shark it might’ve been.
Philip Locke said: “Looks like a small tope shark they are always found along sand banks on shorelines, harmless (but) would still give you a bit of shock.”
Also known as the school shark, the tope often swims close to shore around the UK’s coasts.
Despite its frightening appearance there is nothing to fear – there has been no recorded attack on humans.
The creature is the one in danger – it’s often targeted for its oil, flesh and fin.
They can grow up to 6ft long and live for half-a-century, but they’re classed as critically endangered.
Multiple other Facebook users seemed convinced it was instead a thresher shark.
Megan Kenway-Head said: “My guess would be the common thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus), due to the long whip-like tail, the black tip on the nose as well as shape of the head, and the large fins.”
The thresher is a species that migrates, passing through the UK in the summer months.
They have the unique ability to soar out of the water, jumping into the air.
Their long tail can give them away, which they use to hunt, thrashing it like a whip – hence the creature’s name.
As menacing as that sounds, they pose no threat to humans and are known to scurry away from mankind.
Some were concerned for the shark’s safety rather than that of the beachgoers.
What is the tope shark?
The tope or school shark is a slender creature that can often be spotted off UK coasts.
They can grow up to 1.9 metres long and 45 kilograms heavy.
Sadly, it’s classed as critically endangered and is a “priority species” under the UK Post-2010 Biodiversity Framework.
It sports two dorsal fins and a notched tail.
The creature is perhaps not so different from human Brits – tagging studies have shown they occasionally travel down to the Canary Islands, according to Cumbria Wildlife Trust.
There is no recorded case of an unprovoked attack on humans, so if you spot one of these there is no need to fear.
Michelle-Louise Sanders commented: “Wow that’s amazing. Hope no one hurts the poor thing.”
The UK is home to 21 species of shark that live in British seas full-time.
A further 40 can be seen throughout the year in different seasons.
Some of these species include the huge basking shark and the Greenland shark – which can live for more than 400 years.
But they are gentle giants and there is no risk of coming into contact with aggressive beasts like the tiger shark and the great white.
BNPSBournemouth has been packed with beachgoers during the spell of warmer weather[/caption]
Footage shows the shark staying stagnant near the shore