A shark large tiger was spotted on Monday morning in the Bramadero Bay in Red Capealthough experts assured that the sighting is common and is not a cause for alarm.
The animal was seen by the drone pilot Jose M. Pagan while documenting the birth of an infant manatee in that area.
“What is common (in that area) is the cat shark, that one (the tiger shark) is not very common. Yes, some old people who fish a lot out there had already told me that when it rains a lot on the edge where the salt water and fresh water is that the tiger sharks sometimes get into,” explained Pagán, who was elated at the sighting.
“I was coming down from seeing some baby manatees and I saw it. I almost crashed and all because I started recording it and I almost had no battery,” he said.
The animal was near the surface of the sea and around the seagrass area where, according to marine biologist Michelle Scharer and the deputy commissioner of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA) Edwin Rodríguez Ruizwas looking for his food.
“The reason why we see it so flat immersed in the seagrass is because they feed on the sea turtles that live there… Where there is seagrass habitat it is common to see it because they are looking for the sea turtles to eat them and that seagrass habitat in Puerto Rico often reaches the shore,” Scharer explained.
According to Rodríguez Ruiz, the sighting is nothing to be alarmed about, since “it is common to see it on the coasts.”
“They are in many reef areas where they help us because they maintain population control in those areas,” explained the deputy commissioner.
According to Scharer, no deaths caused by sharks have been reported in Puerto Rico since 1942.
“It’s scarier to cross number 2 in broad daylight… You get hit by number 2 at a much higher rate than people who die from a shark off the coast of Puerto Rico”said the marine biologist.
In turn, Rodríguez Ruiz urged people not to be alarmed if they see a shark on the coast and to get out of the water in an orderly manner while waiting for the creature to leave the area.
According to the deputy commissioner, this type of shark is commercially fished in Puerto Rico along with the mako shark, but this activity is illegal recreationally.
When asked by this media about whether the sighting of this animal had been reported to the Rangers Corps, Rodríguez Ruiz confirmed that there were no complaints at the moment.