FORT PIERCE, FL — Dozens of viral videos of a shark cruising the flooded streets of Fort Pierce have sparked quite the online debate. Some say tarpon, some say bull shark, some say it’s all AI.
Motorists described a harrowing scene. “It pulled up right next to my Altima at the light, looked me dead in the eye and ran the red,” said resident Darla Bilgewater. “No regard for anyone’s safety.”
Another driver, Travis Brody, recorded 14 minutes of footage, 13 of which are his thumb. “That right there,” he said, pointing to a blurry blob next to a floating recycling bin. “That’s her.”
Either way, it was very real, and has now been officially confirmed as “100 percent, no further questions” a great white shark, according to marine biologist Dr. George Stanza, who was golfing nearby at the PGA Golf Club with longtime friend Cramer Cosmos when the footage surfaced.
Stanza said he had been staying close to the area after the nearby Del Boca Vista HOA logged complaints of sharks during the last king tide flood. “I wanted to be close by just in case the once-in-2,267-year event happened,” he said. “And it happened.”
The sighting was independently verified by The Weather Limitless, Inc., a 20-hour news network that signs off from 1 to 5 a.m. so the staff can sleep. The network scrambled a helicopter to hover 4,000 feet above the intersection of U.S. 1 and Orange Avenue.
“I’ve watched Jaws over 100 times, and that unidentified fishy object sure looked like the mythical beast,” said aerial correspondent Gale Downdraft. “But it wasn’t as scary, because it was on our turf now.”
By the next morning, members of Shark Lovers of the Americas had gathered at the intersection, holding signs demanding a ban on “all vehicles and mouth breathers” until every shark in the 100-acre flood zone, where most sightings were reported, is saved.
“She was here first,” said spokesperson Coral Finnegan. “Technically, this whole state was underwater first.” Finnegan declined to say how protesters arrived, though this reporter saw them pull up in a gas-guzzling, brand-new 2027 state-of-the-art 122-foot Powercoach with a full wrap.
The group was soon joined at the corner by local shark hunter Chuck “Chum” Ledbetter, who arrived at dawn with a custom rig: a 16/0 reel bolted to the bed of his custom F-350, 400 yards of 200-pound braid and a whole bonito.
Ledbetter plans to catch and tag the shark, then return it to the Atlantic in a retired gas tanker he custom-built to haul large sharks, mostly to aquariums and Hollywood. “She’ll ride in style,” he said. “Last one did three movies.”
At press time, Shark Lovers of the Americas and Ledbetter appeared to have reached a mutual agreement over several custom fish whistles.
