Drone Operator Saves Family From Potential Shark Attack
A Florida man was able to use his drone to quite likely save his family this week. What was meant to be a day of relaxation and fun at New Smyrna Beach, FL almost turned to tragedy when a massive shark was spotted swimming dangerously close to a family splashing in the shallows. Luckily the family in the water was the wife and children of Dan Watson who was filming the moment with his DJI Mavric 2 Pro drone.
Dan Watson is a photographer, videographer, engineer, and musician who regularly posts content on his YouTube channel and Instagram page under the name @learningcameras. His feed is filled with stunning videos and still images. In his latest post you can see his wife and children playing in the shallows along the shoreline, just beyond the wave line. The sand is clearly visible below them. Just beyond the water turns crystal blue with a shadowy figure just off to the upper left corner of the frame. In the next shot the shadowy figure is clearly a large shark that has moved closer to the family that is desperately running through the water to dry land.
Dan’s wife Sally commented, “When you think of a shark, you think of them in deep water, you don’t think of them extremely close, and you don’t think they’ll come in knee-deep water. It is terrifying to see them come that close to my kids.” While Dan’s Instagram post stated, “Definitely too close of an encounter for my liking! Thinking my @djiglobal drone is now coming with me to every beach day!!!”
This past year there were about 130 shark attacks world wide. Of these attacks 66 were deemed unprovoked while 34 were provoked incidents. (Update – as of 2023, there are now 69 unprovoked attacks by sharks on record). The rest were attacks that were involving boats and other situations. Out of all of the shark attacks, 16 unprovoked attacks occurred in Florida. The average of shark attacks this year was noticeably less than the previous year, but according to the International Shark Attack File, “Annual fluctuations in shark-human interactions are to be expected. Year-to-year variability in oceanographic, socio-economic and meteorological conditions significantly influences the local abundance of sharks and humans in the water and, therefore, the odds of encountering one another.”
The most important thing anyone on a beach can do is to be vigilant of your surroundings, only enter the water when a lifeguard is on duty, and pay attention to local shark warnings. Whose to say if the shark encounter the Watson family had would have resulted in tragedy? They were lucky and got out of the water in time. The Mavic 2 Pro is a top of the line drone that takes some amazing videos and photographs. Because the drone provides a real time live feed of what it sees the Watson family spent the day shaken up, but safe.
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