Anglers on the North Carolina coast got the surprise of a lifetime this week when a rare marine visitor stopped by. A massive 8- to 9-foot albino hammerhead shark was captured on video swimming just feet away from Johnnie Mercers Fishing Pier in Wrightsville Beach.
The nearly solid-white shark circled near the surface, prompting people on the pier to immediately pull their fishing lines out of the water to avoid hooking it. Shark fishing and shark gear are banned on the property.
Biologists say albino sharks are incredibly rare in the wild because a lack of camouflage makes it very difficult for them to survive to adulthood without being targeted by larger predators.
