Shark sighting leads to halt in water activities at Palawan Beach

A shark was spotted at Sentosa's Palawan Beach in a video uploaded to the Sgfollowsall Instagram account on Wednesday (Sep 4).

In the video which has since garnered over 6,300 likes, a blacktip reef shark can be seen swimming in clear, shallow water along the coastline of Palawan Beach. The incident took place on Sept 1. 

As the shark approaches, children can be heard screaming as someone warns them not to "throw water" at the animal.

An object can then be seen thrown at the shark, causing a splash and dissuading the shark's advance.

The shark then changes directions before swimming away as the video ends.

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An eyewitness named Andy said that there was a "much smaller" shark that was seen prior to this 1.5m shark, Stomp reported.

"We were curious and surprised, but we ignored it because it was small," he told Stomp. "Then in the next moment, came this 1.5m blacktip reef shark."

He said that multiple beachgoers in the sea began "screaming and shouting", and the lifeguard immediately flew a red flag to indicate that swimming was no longer allowed.

Some Instagram users expressed wariness at the sighting of the shark, more willing to err on the side of caution.

"Black tip sharks usually stay away from humans," one user said. "But better not to swim."

Others, however, felt that the shark wasn't a threat, stating that blacktip reef sharks are "shy, skittish and difficult to approach".

A few users even took it as testament to the cleanliness of the waters in Sentosa, just a day after all its beaches have reopened following the oil spill that occurred on Jun 14.

No further shark sightings: Sentosa 

Responding to queries from AsiaOne, the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) said that the shark was spotted at around 3.15pm on Sunday (Sep 1).

"Our beach patrol officers and Sentosa rangers were on the ground to immediately evacuate guests from the waters for their safety," the SDC spokesperson said.

"As a precaution, swimming and water activities were also halted for Palawan Beach, indicated by the flags that were put up by our beach patrol officers."

Following drone inspections, there were no further shark sightings and swimming and water activities have since resumed.

"The safety of our guests is of paramount importance to us, and regular protocols are undertaken by our beach patrol officers to monitor the safety of our waters."

Sharks 'not unusual' in local waters: Acres

In response to AsiaOne's queries, the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres) said that it is "not unusual" for sharks to be sighted in our waters.

It is likely that the animal swam into the Palawan beach lagoon while trying to navigate its way out of the semi-circle lagoon, Acres co-CEO Kalai Vanan said.

He also highlighted that blacktip reef sharks are known to be timid and skittish, stressing that sharks are misunderstood animals.

"Movies and media have portrayed sharks negatively," he added. "We need to do our part to understand these animals better."

Should beachgoers happen to encounter a shark in the waters, Kalai advises them to admire them from afar.

"There is no cause for alarm. They have always been around and it is amazing that people get to witness them," he said.

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khooyihang@asiaone.com