Shark shocks beachgoers in New Zealand (video)

Holidaymakers at a New Zealand beach got a shock when a large shark swam up to the shoreline at the weekend.

Tourists at the Papamoa Beach in the Bay of Plenty cleared out of the water when they spotted a 2.5 metre bronze whaler shark in the shallows.

Beachgoers managed to get footage and pictures of the shark as it swam right next to the sand.

According to the Daily Mail, one young boy shouted: "Look at it, it's huge", before the beautiful animal saw back out to sea.

The NZ Heraldreported that shark sightings have been common around the New Zealand coastline this summer, including close encounters with great white sharks in Auckland.

In February, a surfer was mauled by a great white shark off the Southland coast. He was bitten three times while surfing at Porpoise Bay

Over New Year, a large 4.5m great white shark was spotted in the Waitemata Harbour.

Back in February 2013, Auckland filmmaker Adam Strange, 47, was killed by a great white shark at Muriwai on Auckland's west coast.

The bronze whaler shark, also called a copper shark, is found in a number of separate populations in the northeastern and southwestern Atlantic, off southern Africa, in the northwestern and eastern Pacific, and around Australia and New Zealand.

A large shark, it can grow up to 3.3 metres (11ft) long.

Bronze whalers attack humans infrequently, but the species places sixth in the number of unprovoked attacks on people.

During the tracking period through 2013, the University of Florida attributed 20 attacks to the species (in comparison, great white sharks topped the list, with 279 attacks.)

Though large and powerful, the copper shark is not particularly aggressive towards humans unless in the presence of food.

They have been known to harass and attack spear fishermen in an attempt to steal catches.

Bronze whaler sharks have bitten several swimmers in Australia and New Zealand, where the species is common.

Fatal attacks attributed to the bronze whaler include the 2014 death of a swimmer in Tathra, New South Wales, Australia, and the 1976 death of a swimmer in Te Kaha, New Zealand.

Three out of ten shark attacks in New Zealand are attributed to bronze whale sharks.

Witnesses also attributed a fatal attack on September 2011 in Bunker Bay, Western Australia to a copper shark.