Watch a surfer photobomb a great white shark

(CNN) — A professional photographer captures an unexpected and last-minute entry to a surfing competition: a great white shark, very close to a surfer.

The great white shark played a real “photobomb”: the need to “sneak” into a photo.

California-based photographer Jordan Anast was photographing the San Onofre Surf Club competition when he captured the stunning image of the shark.

Anast took the remarkable photo around 11 a.m. on Oct. 22, he told CNN. At first, he didn’t realize what exactly he had captured. Earlier, he had caught dolphins swimming in the water, and from a distance, the animal appeared to be another dolphin, he said.

“I didn’t know until I looked closely and saw the shape of the fins,” he explained. Then “he realized it was a great white shark.”

Still, he said he wasn’t worried by the finding: “They’ve always been everywhere in California,” he said.

Anast captured a total of six images of the jumping great white shark, he said. He attributes the unique photography to a combination of luck and his 400-millimeter telephoto lens, which he typically uses to photograph sporting events from great distances.

He said it was “crazy” that the photo had become popular online. “Today is the craziest day of all. It doesn’t stop spreading. [La foto] It has a life of its own”.

Great white sharks are found off the coast of the United States, although exact populations in American waters are unknown. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Sharks adults can measure up to 21 feet (six and a half meters) and weigh up to 4,000 pounds (about 1,800 kilograms).

Sharks are considered a “vulnerable” species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and are protected internationally under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.