A complete surprise to the person behind the camera, what may be a shark appears to have "photobombed" two Southern California boys as they rode the Manhattan Beach waves over the weekend.
A South Bay woman took the photograph near 31st Street in Manhattan Beach on Friday, and she said she didn’t even realize the sea creature hiding in her photo until she checked the camera in the car.
PHOTOS: Sharks Spotted Swimming Near Surfers in Manhattan Beach
"My son is the one closest to the shark," the woman, June Emerson, told NBC4 Southern California via email. "Whatever it is, it was quite a shock to see while reviewing shots of the day on our way home."
Surfers and lifeguards told Emerson it was definitely a shark, but she decided to tell her 12-year-old son, Quinn, and his friend that it was a dolphin so as not to scare them out of SoCal waters permanently.
Caught on Camera: Surfer Swims Alongside 10-Foot Shark
Though the woman may never know for sure whether the photobomber is a shark or a dolphin, the Southern California coast -- especially Manhattan Beach -- has been no stranger to sharks in recent months. Multiple sharks were spotted swimming in Manhattan Beach waters in August, just hundreds of yards away from swimmers and surfers.
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In November, a surfer captured his encounter with a 10-foot shark on camera while riding the waves in Manhattan Beach.
A rare great white shark was spotted off the coast of Dana Point in October, and several Great White sharks and blue sharks were spotted in October eating a whale carcass in the Santa Barbara Channel between Ventura and the Channel Islands National Park.
