A dog is Hunting a 12-foot-hammerhead Shark in Bahamas

   A dog had a close encounter with a hammerhead shark in the Bahamas when he leaped into the water where the shark was swimming. 

The dog’s daring move was filmed by the captain and crew member of Exuma Water Sports, a boat tour company, on Feb. 16. Rebecca Lightbourn, who works for the company, told the reporter in an email that the dog seemed to want to either play with or chase away the shark. She said the dog splashed around and even tried to bite the shark’s fin, but the shark was confused and swam away. The video, titled “Dog vs Hammerhead,” shows the dog and the shark facing off for over two minutes, while the boat passengers watch in horror and shout at the dog to get out of the water. 

Lightbourn said they don’t know the dog’s name but call him Rufus. The video starts with the 12-foot hammerhead shark’s shadow visible under the water near the boat. Rufus then jumps off a dock nearby and heads toward the shark. The two animals circle each other and seem to fight for a while, as one guest screams, “He’s going to bite the shark!” The passengers get more anxious for Rufus as he stays in the water, with one person yelling, “Get out, baby, get out!” At the end of the video, Rufus manages to get out of the water by climbing on some rocks on the shore before running back to the dock. The passengers cheer and praise Rufus, while one person wonders, “How’d he get away with that?” Some also remark that it looked like Rufus wanted to go back in after the shark.

Lightbourn said that the dog is a type of domesticated stray called a Bahamian Potcake and is the pet of a caretaker on a private island.

As part of the typical tour route, the boat passes the island twice a day, and Rufus often greets passengers.