Shark!

Did a good long run today, from Downtown to Fisherman's Wharf then west through that zone just after Hyde Street where the tourist crowd abruptly ends and the beaches begin. Along the Aquatic Park beach, I saw a shark fin darting above the shallow water close to shore. On closer inspection, I saw the fin belonged to a leopard shark, about 5 feet long. (I've run by here countless times through the years and while sea lions are common, I've never seen a shark on this beach.) The shark, with its ominous fin above water the whole time, was slowly headed towards a swimmer heading to shore. A collision looked imminent. The swimmer was part of a large group of a wetsuit-clad swim team, and the swimmer's teammates on terra firma were frantically trying to get the swimmer's attention: "Shark! Veer left!" The swimmer heard and veered left, in a slow suspenseful drama that ultimately avoided an interaction.

But the impromptu show, worth pausing my run for, only got better. About 20 more swimmers were making their way to shore, each one on the same collision trajectory with the shark, and each one eventually noticing the "veer left!" warnings from shore. One by one, another shark encounter avoided, another "Whew, that was close!"

You had to be there. A small, fingernail-biting crowd gathered, and at least a couple of them (stray tourists, I think) got the whole spectacle on camcorders. With the right Jaws-esque soundtrack, they could have a great little nature movie for the folks back home.

Later I learn that leopard sharks are bottom feeders and little threat to humans. Still, a sight worthy of a break in my run (and another note-to-self moment: I gotta start bringing a camera on my runs!)