EMERALD ISLE, N.C. — A dangerous encounter with a shark along North Carolina's Crystal Coast was caught on video.
A beachgoer shot video of the 5-foot-long shark in the surf of Emerald Isle on Friday afternoon.
After spending a few minutes in the shallow water, it swam back out to sea. The beach, which was recently named the top beach in the state, cleared out shortly after.
Shark sightings along the Carolinas could become a lot more common this summer, according to Duke University researchers. They found that the animals are recolonizing areas they used to live in.
Researchers published the findings in the magazine "Current Biology."
They've seen patterns of animals moving into habitats that were former hunting hot spots, so when more sharks are spotted on the coast, the animals aren't lost, they're returning to former ecosystems.
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