Paddleboarder's incredibly close encounter with great white shark

A paddleboarder had an extremely close and peaceful encounter with a great white shark off Cape Cod on Friday and amazing aerial photos of the moment were captured by a shark spotter pilot.

Impressive pictures shared on social media show the man paddleboarding in the waters off Nauset Beach in Orleans, Massachusetts, as the huge shark swims close.

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The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy posted the photos on Twitter and wrote: "Incredible aerial images by our spotter pilot Wayne Davis of a white shark close to a stand up paddle boarder off Nauset Beach yesterday."

Paddleboarder Terence Roche, identified by the Boston Globe, said he had no idea the shark was there.

"But then I saw the spotter plane, and the plane isn't out there looking for me," he said. "I was in the centre of the plane's circle, so I got out of the water."

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy said it issued an alert on its Sharktivity app to notify surfers of the presence of at least five white sharks in the area on Friday.
Writing on its Facebook page, it said: "It's likely these peaceful encounters occur frequently, but rare to get an image of it!"