A BASKING shark has caused a stir in a small Scots village after it surfaced just metres from the local pier.
The massive shark was spotted just off the coast of Portknockie, Moray on Tuesday, where locals rushed down to the harbour to catch a glimpse of the creature.
The shark surfaced at the edge of the pier where it circled for a while, leaving local youngsters in awe with its short cameo appearance.
Footage shows the shark swimming right up to the edge of the stone pier, which is populated by adults and children alike who watch on.
Its dorsal fin can be seen cutting through the water as it swims around the outside of the harbour.
Several young children, who came out to see the creature, can be spotted running along the pier to get a closer look at the ocean’s second largest fish.
The gentle giant coasts right past two canoeists who appear to be trying to guide it away from coming any further into land.
Sure enough, the shark does a 180 and heads back for the open ocean, right as a youngster jumps off the pier, taking the plunge into the dark water below.
One Portknockie local who was lucky enough to spot the sea giant shared the clip and a number of pictures to social media on Tuesday with the caption: “Basking shark just outside harbour today.”
The post received over 670 likes and more than 125 comments from stunned social media users.
One user said: “I always kind of assumed basking sharks were a west coast animal?”
Another wrote: “Shame we missed it.”
A third added: “Maybe the same one I seen that time.”
Another commented: “No way.”
The basking shark is the second largest living shark – and fish – in the world, behind the whale shark.
With large adult specimens reaching up to 10 metres in length, the basking shark can live up to 50 years and can be found from the water’s surface, right down to at least 910 metres deep.
Despite their size, basking sharks pose no danger to humans and are filter feeders – mostly feeding on zooplankton, small fish and invertebrates in the water.
The species are one of only three plankton-eating shark species alongside the whale shark and megamouth shark, and are currently endangered.
