A swimmer has shocked onlookers in Delaware after grabbing a large shark with his bare hands and holding its jaws open for everyone to see.
People who witnessed the bizarre encounter didn't know what to think. Why the hell would anyone willingly go up to a shark in the water and try to have a wrestle? In the video, one woman can be heard saying: "Oh my god, that's a big a** shark."
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The swimmer manages to hold open the shark's mouth for at least five seconds and pins it with his left arm. It certainly doesn't look like a fun play around in the water.
While some were quick to condemn the man for interacting with nature, not all is what it seems. Fox 5 has revealed the swimmer has professional training and he was simply trying to remove a hook from the shark's mouth.
Fishing for sharks in the state of Delaware is illegal and anyone who pulls one in has to release it immediately. It's unclear whether this shark was a victim of an angler or if it had inadvertently got the hook stuck in its mouth.
It's surprising to see a shark be relatively calm while being manhandled that way and let's hope it was able to swim away with a smile on its face.
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The swimmer will be thankful he didn't have to retrieve a hook from a different shark discovered off the coast of Maryland, which is just next door to Delaware.
A group of fishermen got more than they bargained for when they went out to sea and got up close with a great white. While bobbing along and shooting the breeze, the group of mates spotted the 'huge' predator coasting through the waters near Ocean City.
And fortunately for us, they caught the whole encounter on film.
In the footage that has been shared online, the great white can be seen moving through the water below, approaching the boat.
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The understandably excited bunch of seafarers then begin to track it as it circles the vessel, and even lower some carcasses off the side to entice the big guy over.
And it doesn't refuse the offer, surfacing out of the water with its huge, gaping mouth ready to snatch the grub.
Speaking about the tense meeting, fisherman Steven White said it was the first time he had seen one in the wild and just couldn't believe it.
He told ABC: "All of a sudden, a big white shark shows up right next to the boat and decides to swim around the boat and give us a show for about 10-15 minutes.
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"She showed up, every bit 15 to 18-foot-long, just huge, 2,000-3,000 pounds, it's a massive animal.
Featured Image Credit: Fox 5