Hammerhead shark swims near shore in Orange Beach

Hammerhead shark swims near shore in Orange Beach

A widely circulated facebook video post from Aug. 15 show what appears to be a 10 to 12 ft. Hammerhead shark swimming near shore while chasing stingrays in the shallow part of the Gulf of Mexico at around 10 a.m. in Orange Beach. Catarena Peek, a touist from Texas, posted a video of the shark that was viewed 30,000 times within 24 hours. In the video, the shark appears to be distressed while in very shallow water and soon swims off.
A common tropical and subtropical shark that inhabits the open ocean and the shallow coastal waters of the Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean, Hammerheads are often found in inlets and the mouths of bays. Scalloped Hammerheads are the most common in Alabama and average between 8 and 10 ft, with a maximum total length of about 14 ft.