Beached Shark Helped Back to Water by Passing Cyclists in Durban

A group of cyclists were visiting the North Beach in Durban, South Africa, back in June 2022, when they spotted a thresher shark struggling in the shallows and helped it back out into deeper waters. Footage of the rescue was posted to https://www.tiktok.com/@luckygordy/video/7107821340953971974 TikTok by Gordon Reid who said he was bodyboarding on the beach when he spotted the rescue underway. Reid joined in as the cyclists were trying to push an "massive" thresher shark back out into the water. "By the time I got there, we decided to pull it across to the pier and try and let the natural rip help it get on because it really had zero energy," Reid said. "The poor thing wasn't kicking at all." The group grabbed the shark by the pectoral fin, which Reid said "felt quite safe" under the circumstances. They then held the shark under water to help the liquid make its way back through the gills. Reid described the group effort as a "cool experience" and said that the shark regained strength and cruised back out out into deeper waters after a few minutes. (Footage by Gordon Reid/Storyful via Getty Images UGC)