“Wouldn’t have believed it until this video …”
A recent boat trip in the Philippines gave diver Ara Juan a sight she wasn’t expecting.
While looking out over the water, Juan noticed an animal suddenly launching itself above the surface. For a moment, the movement looked like something a dolphin might do. But after getting a better look, she realized the animal wasn’t a dolphin at all — it was a shark.
Seeing a shark’s dorsal fin break the surface is common, but watching one propel its entire body into the air is far more unusual. The behavior, known as breaching, is more often associated with whales and dolphins.
Juan soon identified the animal as a thresher shark, a distinctive species found in tropical and temperate waters around the world. Thresher sharks can grow to around 20 feet long and may live for several decades.
One of their most recognizable features is their exceptionally long tail.
“The common thresher shark is easily identified by its long tail which is often the same length as the rest of its body,” the Atlantic Shark Institute explained on Instagram.
But that dramatic tail isn’t the only thing that makes these sharks stand out. Thresher sharks are also famous for their impressive leaps from the ocean.
Other shark species, including great whites, are known to breach as well, but threshers can launch themselves remarkably high above the surface, creating displays that can look almost acrobatic.
Scientists still don’t have one definitive explanation for why they do it.
Researchers have suggested several possibilities. Breaching could help thresher sharks hunt by startling or concentrating schools of fish. It may also serve as a form of communication, help regulate body temperature or simply be a playful behavior.
“Some researchers believe that thresher sharks breach to stun or herd prey, such as schooling fish, into a more confined area where they can more easily capture them,” Baja Wild Encounters wrote on Facebook.
Another frequently suggested explanation involves parasites.
By forcefully throwing themselves from the water and crashing back down, the sharks may be able to shake loose parasites and other organisms attached to their skin.
“Jumping out of the water may help thresher sharks dislodge parasites or organisms attached to their bodies,” Baja Wild Encounters explained.
It’s also possible that there isn’t just one reason for the behavior. Thresher sharks may breach for different purposes depending on the circumstances.
Juan, however, offered a more playful explanation after witnessing the spectacular jump herself.
“Some say they do this to remove the parasite on their bodies, but I think they just wanna show off,” Juan wrote.
Whatever the scientific explanation turns out to be, witnessing a thresher shark soaring above the ocean is an extraordinary experience.
The footage left viewers just as amazed as Juan.
“Wouldn’t have believed it until this video,” one Instagram commenter wrote.