Oblivious surfer lives to tell the tale after STEPPING on a shark at Bondi Beach, Sydney, NSW

Incredible moment oblivious Bondi surfer gets off his board in the water and steps on a SHARK

  • Incident was at Bondi Beach, in Sydney’s east, in early February this year
  • Experts declared shark appears to be a Grey Nurse, an endangered species
  • Footage shows surfer stepping on shark, which then quickly swims away

A surfer still has all his limbs intact despite stepping on top of a shark.

An aerial drone captured the remarkable incident at Bondi Beach, in Sydney’s east, recently.

In the vision, the surfer and a shark can be seen virtually side by side just a few metres past the iconic break.

The surfer (pictured above) jumped off his board in the surf at Bondi before stepping on a shark (circled in red)

The startled shark (pictured circled in red) then swum away following the unexpected encounter

The startled shark (pictured circled in red) then swum away following the unexpected encounter

Suddenly, the surfer leaps off his board into the ocean, virtually on top of the grey nurse.

The shark then swum away, seemingly rattled by the incredible close encounter. 

‘He seemed to hop off his board right on top of the shark and I jumped a little bit, I did wince,’ drone photographer Toby Nicol told 7NEWS. 

‘I would love to chat with the surfer… it would be great to see if he knew it was a shark that he stepped on.’

Grey nurse sharks, which can be dangerous if provoked, are an endangered species in NSW.

Marine Scientist Dr Vanessa Pirotta described the species as generally a ‘placid animal’. 

She also wasn’t surprised to see the shark quickly swim away following the encounter with the surfer. 

According to the International Shark File, there were eight fatalities in Australian waters in 2020, up from none in 2019.

The much-feared great white sharks were responsible for at least 16 global attacks in 2020, including four fatalities in Australia.

Grey nurse sharks (pictured) are generally placid, but they can be dangerous if provoked

Grey nurse sharks (pictured) are generally placid, but they can be dangerous if provoked

THE EIGHT FATAL SHARK ATTACKS IN AUSTRALIA IN 2020

January 5: Diver Gary Johnson, 57, was killed by a great white shark while diving with his wife near Esperance in WA

April 6: Wildlife ranger Zachary Robba, 23, was mauled to death by a shark while swimming off the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland

June 7: Surfer Rob Pedretti, 60, was killed by a great white shark while he was boarding at Salt Beach near Kingscliff in far northern NSW

July 4: Spearfisher Matthew Tratt, 36, was mauled to death by a suspected great white shark in a ‘provoked’ attack on Fraser Island in Queensland

July 11: Surfer Mani Hart-Deville, 15, was boarding when he was killed by a suspected great white shark at Wooli Beach, near Grafton on the NSW North Coast

September 8: Surfer Nick Slater, 46, was mauled to death by a suspected great white at Greenmount Beach on the Gold Coast

October 9: Father-of-two Andrew Sharpe was killed by a shark while surfing at Kelp Beds in Wylie Bay, near Esperance on WA’s south coast

November 22: Cable Beach, WA: Charles Cernobori, 59, who worked at a Cable Beach hotel was killed by a 4m suspected tiger shark while bodyboarding 2km north of the main tourist section