A viral TikTok displaying sharks and an alligator swimming in the identical South Carolina creek has left viewers surprised on the assembly of two predators.
Tourist Gina Athans from Chicago captured the jaw-dropping show Monday whereas having fun with a household dinner at Skull Creek Dockside in Hilton Head.
“My family and I had just sat down to order our drinks when one of the managers came up to us and mentioned that there were sharks and an alligator out on the boat dock,” Athans advised The Island Packet. “My first thought was ‘there’s no way they’re hanging out in the water together.’”
Athans and her household made their means exterior, and have been shocked to search out 5 lemon sharks and an alligator poking its head out from underneath the dock in Skull Creek. She nervously filmed the encounter, which has since reeled in over 3.8 million views on TikTok.
“I’ve been visiting Hilton Head since I was 12 years old, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Athans added.
Skull Creek’s brackish waters, a mixture of each contemporary and saltwater, permit sharks and alligators to cross paths, Morgan Hart, the Alligator Project Leader for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, advised The Island Packet.
The two predators normally coexist peacefully if related in measurement, with the true hazard coming from people approaching or feeding them. Therefore, it’s greatest to observe them from a protected distance, she advised the outlet.
Still, this explicit video was too scary for some viewers to think about regular.
“Now I have to Google if sharks eat alligators or alligators eat sharks,” one individual commented.
“First time I’ve ever worried about the well-being of an alligator,” one other mentioned.
A 3rd admitted, “I used to comfort myself with the fact that alligators live in fresh water and sharks live in salt water therefore both would never be an issue…this has crushed that.”
Athans’ video additionally captured individuals, together with kids, observing the animal and leaning on a wood railing, which frightened many commenters.
“Y’all putting too much trust in that wooden railing!!!” one viewer wrote.
“All those little scrumptious appetizers hanging off the dock railing,” one other mentioned.
A 3rd requested, “Remember that scene in Jaws when the pier collapsed into the shark-infested water because too many people were standing on it…”