Apparently, the street shark is legit. Or at least challenges what’s been a long-running hoax. And people can’t stop talking about it.
A video showing a shark in a flooded backyard of a Fort Myers, Fla., home is going viral. And the Associated Press is reporting that the shark spotting is no hoax, unlike other storm-related instances in the past.
The flooding was a result of Hurricane Ian. Dominic Cameratta, a local real-estate developer, filmed the scene, according to the AP account, and said the fish may have found its way from a nearby creek into a retention pond, which then overflowed. The result? A shark in the backyard — or a street shark, as some have taken to calling it. Other referred to it as a hurricane shark.
The AP noted that experts said the shark could actually just be a large fish, but that hasn’t quelled the clamor. News reports say the verified video has been viewed at least 12 million times.
And folks have plenty to say regarding the shark footage…
Obviously, that’s because the video shows something seemingly unfathomable but indeed very real. That’s in marked contrast to previous instances of post-storm shark sightings — everywhere from Puerto Rico to Houston — that proved to be fake.
And let’s not forget the most famous faux weather-related shark “sightings” — namely, all those flying sharks in the “Sharknado” films.
On social media, some have made comparison between the street shark and the land shark of “Saturday Night Live” fame. Others have pointed to another kind of shark on the streets, as in the Shark gang members of “West Side Story.”
With a certain cheeky bemusement, BuzzFeed News praised the AP for its dogged determination to prove the Fort Myers street shark was legit, calling it “a feat of journalism that will undoubtedly make them the frontrunner for this year’s Pulitzer Prize.”
Or at least until that next street shark appears and a news outlet verifies the fishy tale.