Kayaker Comes Face to Face with 25 Foot Shark in Florida

A kayaker in Florida recently came face to face 25-foot long Basking shark as he was paddling along in the sea in his 14-foot kayak. While a number of onlookers shouted words of warning to Josh Reeves, it appears he knew he wasn't in any danger from second largest species of shark in the world. He jumped into the water and started swimming with the huge plankton eater.
  
Animal authorities say Basking sharks do not normally swim south to the warmer Florida waters… just like they're not normally known to hurt humans.
   

    
Basking Shark   
The basking shark is the second largest living shark, after the whale shark. It is a cosmopolitan species, found in all the world's temperate oceans. It is a slow moving and generally harmless filter feeder.
  
The basking shark is a coastal-pelagic shark found worldwide in boreal to warm-temperate waters around the continental shelves. It prefers 46 to 58 °F temperatures, but recently has been confirmed to cross the much-warmer waters at the equator. It is often seen close to land, including bays with narrow openings. The shark follows plankton concentrations in the water column and is therefore often visible at the surface. They characteristically migrate with the seasons. The basking shark is found from the surface down to at least 2,990 feet.