Shark Filmed Leaving Water and Walking on Land is Going Viral

@SharkWeek via Twitter

If you go to the beach or swim in the ocean, the thought might cross your mind, “Are there sharks out here?”

Sharks do live in the water. They swim. That’s what they do. They don’t walk. You’re safe on land. If you’re on the beach or in a boat, you’re good. Right? Right?

Sure. Yes. Most likely.

During Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, there was some footage that shocked many viewers. The footage was of an epaulette shark, and while the shark was seen swimming in the water, it was also seen doing something that had never been captured on camera before. The shark walked on its fins.

Okay. Don’t freak out. What you’re thinking is probably different than the reality. It wasn’t exactly like the land shark episode of Saturday Night Live. Do you remember that episode? No? Don’t worry. We’ve got you.

Allow us to ease your fears. The reality of a land shark is not like the SNL skit above. What adventurer Forrest Galante showed us during Shark Week is actually quite a bit different. 

In the video posted on Twitter by Shark Week, the epaulette shark is seen in the water. It moves through the water and never completely leaves the water; however, it does move through a rocky section of water, and it uses its fins to walk through the rocks. 

Galante exclaims, “Look at him using those fins! This is so incredible!” He narrates as the shark goes “up and over the rocks.” As he watches the shark using his fins to “walk,” he remarks, “This is spectacular!”

Then Galante explains to viewers why exactly he believes this moment is so “spectacular.” He says, “This is the first time in history one of the Papuan species of epaulettes has been documented walking.”

Watch the epaulette shark walk in the video below.

As some Shark Week viewers pointed out, the shark wasn’t exactly walking. It was more of a crawl, but that’s still pretty incredible.

Do you think sharks will one day walk on land? Does the thought of a shark walking on land scare you or excite you? What was your favorite moment from Shark Week?