This is the jaw-dropping moment a great white shark chomps on a camera while dragging a boat around in a tug of war.
Marine researcher Scott Tindale captured the epic battle after lowering his camera into Kaipara Harbour, in northern New Zealand.
He says he decided to film there after he lost a camera to a juvenile Great White while fishing a few weeks prior.
However, he never could have never predicted that sharks would be that interested in his device.
Scott said: “I decided to return with a camera mounted onto a small mesh box and attached a fish frame on a short tether in front of the camera.
“As soon as I lowered the camera over the side a great white shark took the fish frame.
“A minute later he came back and grabbed the camera mount and started pulling the boat around.
“I had a hold on the short rope attached to the camera so a tug of war ensued.
"The shark let the camera go as it reached the surface a few metres behind the boat.
“The camera mount was destroyed but the camera survived.”
Scott, who has been studying sharks in the area for 25 years, estimates that the super predator was about eight-foot long.
He also believes the shark's shyness is what caused it to release the camera.
He said: "These sharks are rather timid and rarely show themselves at the surface.
“The satellite tags we have fitted to a few of these sharks in past years showed they only swam near the surface once out of the harbour and further out at sea.”
Scott said the sharks were tempted into the harbour seasonally by the prospect of food.
He said: "They turn up in the Kaipara each year around early summer and feed mainly on small fish and dogfish.
“I suspect the cloudy water makes foraging along the seafloor a safe option for a juvenile shark.
“In the harbour, they will steal a fish caught on a fishing line or net, but this can be an issue if the shark gets tangled and possibly drowns before it can be released.
“These are a protected species in New Zealand so every effort is made to avoid accidental captures.”
Scott, who is retired, now runs Tindale Marine Research Charitable Trust with his wife, Sue.
It’s a citizen-science endeavour, encouraging the public to tag and release fish, and promoting sustainable fishing.
Scott also hopes to educate the public further about great whites.
He said: “Studying their behaviour and sharing this with the public hopefully will give us a better understanding of these magnificent creatures.”
