A heart-stopping drone video has captured the terrifying moment a great white shark stalked two paddleboarders off the Santa Barbara coast, and the victims had no idea the massive predator was right on their tail.
The chilling footage, shot Sunday, shows the huge shark swimming just feet behind the pair as they glided across the water, completely oblivious to the danger lurking beneath the surface.
Kayla Ross and a companion had actually gone out looking for sharks after hearing reports of a sighting in the area. Ross’s uncle took to the skies with a drone to help spot the beast and guide them.
They paddled far out into the blue, but things took a terrifying turn when the drone operator spotted something massive and urgently radioed them back to shore.
“We paddled pretty far out because we went to the drone and then he said that he saw something and that we had to head back to shore right now,” Ross recalled. “But I didn’t see it because I was just looking forward, paddling. So I didn’t know what he saw, how big it was, so we just went straight back. But that was a little nerve-racking.”
Little did they know the shark had been tracking them the entire time.
The drone footage reveals the predator cruising directly behind their board, its dorsal fin slicing through the water as the unsuspecting pair kept paddling forward.
The shark eventually veered away without incident, but not before giving everyone watching the video a collective heart attack.“We were terrified,” the paddleboarders said of the close encounter.
In true thrill-seeker fashion, Ross didn’t let the scare keep her on dry land. She headed back out twice more that day, hoping to catch another glimpse, and even said she’d do it again, adding she hopes to find an even bigger shark next time.
The video has gone viral, leaving viewers stunned at how close the massive great white came without the paddleboarders ever realizing it.
Experts note great whites in the area often approach out of curiosity rather than aggression, but that’s little comfort when you’re the one floating on a board with a 15-foot predator shadowing your every move.
One thing’s for sure: These paddleboarders got way more than they bargained for on their shark-hunting expedition.
