'Grateful I wasn't on the menu': Terrifying video shows great white shark stalk kayaker
"Just lost sight of him," the kayaker says in the video while attempting to catch his breath. "He could be swimming underneath me too."
In a scene rivaling a horror film, video shot by a terrified kayaker shows him being stalked by a great white shark.
Matthew John Patrick Wells captured the dramatic scene during which the massive shark swims toward him in waters off the coast of Northland, New Zealand.
“Whilst kayak fishing for yellow tail kingfish … I was greeted by a massive great white who followed me curiously for eight minutes,” Wells told Storyful.
"What the... Great White! Great White Shark," Wells is heard saying as the 4.5-meter (nearly 15 feet) great white shark shows a “curious and terrifying interest” in his kayak.
Watch video of a great white shark stalking a kayaker
Footage shows Wells immediately spin the kayak away from the shark, and paddle in the opposite direction of the fish, which proceeds to trail the kayak with it's massive fins above water.
"Just lost sight of him," Wells says in the video, apparently attempting to catch his breath. "He could be swimming underneath me too."
'I'm grateful I wasn't on the menu'
Wells told Storyful the shark eventually left him unharmed, but he'll never forget the experience.
“It was a beautifully terrifying animal, an apex predator deserving of our utmost respect … I’m grateful I wasn’t on the menu this day.”
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.