Diver fought off great white shark at popular Sydney beach: 'Jabbed it'
A man has warned swimmers to be careful while swimming at Maroubra beach after his friend allegedly fought off a great white shark in the water on Monday morning.
The large shark, also known as a white pointer, supposedly swam horizontally at the diver before it "went for his legs" but he was able to "jab it in the snout" to scare it off.
A post was reshared in a popular Bondi Facebook group, which detailed the diver's close encounter with the sea animal, which he estimated to be at least 3.5 meters long.
The diver said he was separated from his two diving buddies and ended up near the rocks in eight-meter deep water when he first noticed "a big white on the surface moving towards him".
He revealed the shark "had a crack" at him and was able to scare it off with his fist. But the shark apparently turned away then went for him again.
Luckily, none of the divers reported any injuries caused by the shark, but local residents in Sydney's east have been warned.
"Please be careful out there, we are experiencing conditions I have never encountered in 45 years of diving and there is no doubt whatsoever that larger whites are along Sydney coastal waters right now," the post read.
"Keep safe and take the necessary precaution when you’re going diving, dive with a buddy, and keep close together. Carry a tourniquet on your person or float," he advised other divers.
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Close call comes after series of shark encounters
This comes just weeks after a surfer had a very close call with shark at the same beach – one of Sydney's most iconic surfing beaches – with the man walking away unharmed with only a dent in his surfboard.
Randwick City Council confirmed the incident on Facebook at the time, sharing a picture of a mildly beat-up surfboard.
Maroubra beach is close to Little Bay Beach, where a swimmer was killed by a shark in February.
The man sustained "catastrophic" injuries from the attack, which resulted in several beaches in the area being closed at the time.
Flooding attracts sharks, expert says
Following the onslaught of rain earlier this month, Lawrence Chlebeck, Marine Biologist from Humane Society International, told Yahoo News Australia people should avoid beaches amid heavy rain and flooding, due to sharks.
"Sharks are very intelligent animals and they've specialised in making the most of feeding opportunities," Mr Chlebeck explained.
"One of the things that sharks have learned to do is follow rivers after heavy rainfall because lots of different things will be washed into the ocean."
Weatherzone forecasts another drenching for parts of eastern Australia, which could make swimming conditions troublesome once more.
While areas around the Queensland-NSW border will most likely get the worst of it, "Sydney might get a bit of a wet day," meteorologist Joel Pippard told Yahoo News Australia.
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