Rare Walking Shark Spotted on Land

A shark that was recently filmed for the Discovery Channel walking outside the water on land left viewers astounded.

Adventurer Forrest Galante documented the species, named the epaulette shark, for the Island of the Walking Sharks program as part of Discovery‘s wider shark coverage.

In clips that have since gone viral, Galante is seen closely monitoring the shark as it crawls from the water.

“Look at him using those fins. This is so incredible,” he said. “This is spectacular! This is the first time in history one of the Papuan species of epaulettes has been documented walking.”

The expert said the epaulettes are the “only-known shark in the world that will walk out of the water and over land.”

According to Shark Guardian, the species only chomps down on worms, small fish, and crustaceans.

Walking shark trends on Twitter

Twitter users were just as starstruck as the expert, with one writing: “Oh hellllllllllll nooooo the sand came alive.”

“So amazing to see these wonderful creatures,” another wrote. “I’m so excited for this episode. So much beauty.”

But not everyone was shocked, with one Australian writing: “Come down to Sydney, Australia, we have them all over the place. They freak me out…they are amazing at camouflage, and when you see one moving and didn’t know it was there, it’s like the sand came alive.”

This year, Shark Week has already hit the headlines after a pod of killer whales was videoed savaging a shark for its liver.

The clip begins by showing two large whales swimming near the surface of the water in Mossel Bay, South Africa. Then, out of nowhere, a third orca swims to the surface carrying a nine-foot great white in its jaws.

The footage seemingly confirmed the long-held theory that the whales are driving off sharks in popular feeding spots.