‘Is that normal?’ Woman captures the rare moment a great white shark floats upside down – as guide on cage diving tour admits he’s never seen it before
- The shark was filmed on the Neptune Islands in Port Lincoln off the coast of SA
- The female shark emerges and swims upside down with its mouth wide open
- The phenomena is known as tonic immobility but it’s unknown why sharks do it
Rare footage of a great white shark swimming on its back has been filmed by a woman on a shark cage diving trip.
The woman was on a trip in the Neptune Islands in Port Lincoln, off the coast of South Australia, in early October when she spotted the apex predator.
Dramatic footage captures the moment the female shark emerges from the water and swims upside down with her mouth open, before flipping over and disappearing under the water.
The footage was filmed by a guest on a trip in the Neptune Islands in Port Lincoln off the coast of South Australia in early October
One of the passengers can be heard asking: ‘Is that normal?’
‘No,’ another responds.
One of the guides on the diving trip adds: ‘I’ve never seen a shark do that before.’
The Shark Cage Diving – Calypso Star Charters Facebook page said they spotted the female shark again a few days after the video was filmed.
‘She has not been identified but we did see her a few days later displaying the very curious behaviour again,’ Shark Cage Diving said.
‘The behaviour is very rare but we have seen sharks do it before.’
The video was quickly flooded with comments from shocked people who had never seen a shark float upside down before.
One woman said: ‘I’ve never seen a great white swimming on her back. Incredible footage.’
‘Oh my gosh wow. I had no idea they could swim like that. Amazing,’ another person said.
Another said: ‘That’s got to be a once in a lifetime thing.’
The female shark emerges from the water and swims upside down for several seconds with her large mouth wide open before flipping over and diving under the water
Sharks are not known to swim upside down, but on rare occasions, they will flip over to assume a position known as tonic immobility.
Tonic immobility is a natural state of paralysis sharks enter by stimulating the tiny sensory pores located on their snout, according to conservation group Shark Trust.
Scientists are not entirely sure why sharks enter tonic immobility, but some suggest it may be related to mating.