Great White Shark lunges at woman after she leans over boat to pet it 'like dog'

A video has gone viral of a shark 'lunging' towards a woman who decided to 'pet it like it's the family dog' while leaning over the side of a boat.

On today's episode of people letting their intrusive thoughts get the better of them... A video has gone viral on social media showing the moment a woman reached down off a boat she was on to touch the head of a great white shark.

Yup. A group from Knot Lucky Fishing were on a boating trip of Tybee Island, Georgia in the US, when they decided to pause and get up close and personal with some sea creatures.

The organisation takes active duty service members, veterans and their families on free fishing trips, alongside its the White Shark Tagging Program with Starbrite, Project SeaSafe and Gray FishTag Research.

The program sees sharks caught, tagged and released back into the wild.

However, during one encounter between one of its veterans and a shark, the woman decided to reach down and 'pet' the shark.

Although, as Knot Lucky Fishing said in its post to Facebook to share footage, the apex predator 'had other ideas'.

Indeed, the video shows the moment a hand reaches down and gives the shark a few strokes on the back of its head, as if it's 'the family dog'.

Cue the shark then looking a bit peeved off.

I wouldn't be too happy either... (Facebook/ Knot Lucky Fishing)

The next moment, the animal appears to lunge forwards, its mouth colliding with the boat - instead of her hand, thankfully.

As Knot Lucky Fishing said: "Everybody on the boat felt that one in their chest."

And it's not taken long for social media users to weigh in.

One Facebook user wrote: "Why are we petting great white sharks?"

"'Lunged'. I think the shark was far more interested in getting off the hook than trying to take a bite out of the woman," another added.

A third wrote: "Why would you want to pet a shark?"

And a fourth added: "What does one expect from a shark trying to protect itself?!"

However, the organisation argues that the woman, named Jen, 'was never in real danger'.

"The crew had that shark under control the whole time, and it never got close enough to do any harm," the post details. "But that reaction right there is a reminder of exactly what these animals are. Beautiful. Powerful. Wild. They deserve every ounce of respect we can give them."

The organisation goes on to note this is what its 'White Shark Tagging Program is all about'.

It continues: "We catch, tag, and release great whites to collect real research on where they go and how they live, and every shark we tag carries the name of a fallen brother. Science and honor on the same deck.

"Huge thanks to Starbrite and Gray's FishTag Research for standing with us and making this mission possible.

"And a big shout out to Ambio Life Sciences. Ambio is where I first physically felt God. In that moment I knew serving others was my life's purpose, and three days later I started running Knot Lucky full time. Every trip, every tag, every veteran on this boat traces back to that day. Thank you for saving my life, and for every veteran you keep saving."

Although, Knot Lucky Fishing did note the shark in the video didn't end up getting tagged as the crew 'never had a safe shot' and 'will never force it'.

It added: "The shark's safety and the crew's safety come first, every single time, so we let that shark go to swim another day."