Police have warned people to be on their guard after spotting this huge shark nearly 30ft long off a Spanish beach.
The sighting took place on Saturday morning near to the spot where a smaller version was seen gliding through the water around a fortnight ago.
Civil Guard officers released footage of the giant creature near their boat after warning kayakers and other water sports enthusiasts to stay away from it.
A basking shark nearly 30ft long, the largest size the creatures normally reach, was spotted off the coast of La Mamola in southern Spain
Kayakers and other water sport enthusiasts were warned by Civil Guard Officers (pictured) to stay away from the shark
The latest sighting occurred off La Mamola beach on the Costa Tropical, a 20-minute drive east of the town of Calahonda where a shark described as around 13ft long was filmed swimming close to the shoreline on May 3.
Social media users at the time speculated it was a basking shark, the second-largest living shark after the whale shark.
Police have confirmed the latest one to be seen is a basking shark and said this one was more than 26 feet long – around the maximum size it can reach.
The warning to people not to approach was made public despite it being described as non-aggressive and harmless to humans in write-ups on the species, known in Latin as Cetorhinus Maximus.
A Civil Guard spokesman said on Sunday the shark had been spotted less than a quarter of a mile off the beach at La Mamola, a traditional fishing village of just under 2,000 inhabitants which belongs to the municipality of Polopos and is in the easternmost part of the Costa Tropical.
It has grown in recent years as a tourist and holiday attraction.
The latest sighting comes after a 13ft long shark was filmed swimming only a 20-minute drive east near the town of Calahonda on May 3. Pictured, the 26ft shark swimming at La Mamola
Basking sharks are described as non-aggressive and harmless to humans in write-ups on the species, known in Latin as Cetorhinus Maximus
The police force said in a statement: ‘Officers from the Civil Guard’s Maritime Service have recommended sports enthusiasts should not approach the shark with their kayaks.
‘The shark was spotted just 400 metres off La Mamola beach on Saturday morning.
‘It was a basking shark which was more than 26 feet in length.
‘The basking shark has not been known to attack humans but when it was spotted the warning was made to people in the vicinity not to approach.
‘It’s the second shark sighting in the last few weeks. On May 3 a smaller one was seen off the beach at Calahonda.’
The shark sighted just under a fortnight ago was described by witnesses at the time as being around 13 feet, although police said today/yesterday (SUN) it was some 10 feet long.
The giant shark circled a Civil Guard boat just 400 metres off the coast of the fishing village on Saturday morning
It was spotted swimming up and down the beach with its tell-tale fin showing.
At the time there were no tourists in the water because of Spain’s coronavirus crisis and the mass exodus in March of those holidaymakers that were in the country.
It was inside the yellow buoys put out to mark the area pleasure boats have to stay outside so it is safe for swimmers.
In May 2018 a 10-foot shark led to the water being evacuated in the Costa del Sol resort of Fuengirola.
Red flags were hoisted along more than five miles of coastline during an unsuccessful search for the animal.
It was said at the time to be a tintorera or blue shark, the same type of shark that was blamed for an attack on a holidaymaker in Elche near Alicante in July 2016.
Basking sharks are the second-largest sharks alive, only beaten by whale sharks, and are known to swim with their mouths wide open
La Mamola is a fishing village which has grown in recent years as a tourist attraction. It holds just under 2,000 inhabitants and belongs to the municipality of Polopos
The 40-year-old victim was rushed to hospital and given stitches to a wound in his hand.
In August 2018 tourists fled in panic after a shark appeared off a packed Majorcan beach.
Bathers including groups of young children by pedalos watched on as the fish swam around just a few feet away in the water.
The 10-foot shark, also thought to be a tintorera, made its unexpected appearance at Cala Domingos, a sandy beach that gets very crowded in August in Calas de Majorca on the island’s east coast.
One local said of the latest shark to be spotted: ‘Basking sharks are inoffensive like the plankton they feed on.’
Another added: ‘Incredible footage. I’m speechless.’