A second Hammerhead sighting off the San Diego coast Sunday prompted lifeguards to extend a shark advisory for beachgoers until the end of the day.
On Saturday, A group of kayakers captured their heart-pounding close encounter with a hammerhead shark off the same stretch of San Diego coast — a sighting that prompted lifeguards to close down crowded beaches nearby for the day.
The stretch of shoreline between La Jolla Cove and Scripps Pier reopened Sunday morning with a shark advisory and lifeguards warned people heading to the water about the shark sighting so they would be able to decide for themselves whether they would want to swim.
At 12:10 p.m. Sunday, minutes before the initial shark advisory was set to expire, lifeguards confirmed a single, experienced kayaker out fishing, with fish on him, had encountered a 6 to 8 foot hammerhead shark a mile and a half to two miles off shore.
The shark swam by the kayak in a non-aggressive manner, lifeguards said, and was likely attracted by the bloody fish water.
When the kayaker paddled toward the shore, the shark followed. Two hundred and fifty yards off shore, the man flagged down a lifeguard boat and pointed out the shark and a nearby swimmer.
Lifeguard saw the shark and said it swam toward the swimmer before suddenly turning away. He then swam back out to deeper water and has not been spotted since.
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The encounter was further off shore than the Saturday sighting and for that reason, it is considered less significant. The shark's behavior was also less aggressive, lifeguards said.
Lifeguard crews in boats and a helicopter searched the waters for shark on Saturday, but no more sightings were reported for the rest of the day.
Hammerheads like the one spotted Saturday rarely present a threat to humans, experts say. In fact, since scientists began keeping records in the 1950s, there have been just 32 documented hammerhead shark attacks, according to Mike Price, an assistant curator of fishes at SeaWorld.
However, a hammerhead bit into a local diver's hand earlier this month about 100 miles off San Diego's coast.
