Calgary Yes, That's A Great White Shark Launching Into The Air | HuffPost Weird News - Action.News ABC Action News WestNet-HD Weather Traffic

Surfers seem to be encountering some flying sharks lately.

Just two weeks after an airborne spinner shark knocked a Florida surfer off his board, Drew Palumbo was filming a surf session with a friend in waters off Sunset Beach, California, when an unexpected visitor decided to pop up for a quick "Hello!" 60 feet from the lineup.

"Right away, both of us knew what we were seeing ," Palumbo told CBS LA.

After seeing the footage, experts said they believe the shark was a juvenile great white , estimated about 6 1/2 feet long. Shark sightings are relatively common in the area, since the waters off central California act as a nursery for great white sharks , according to NOAA Fisheries.

While adult great whites have been known to lunge out of the water while chasing prey, it's unclear why juvenile sharks, like the one seen in the footage below, take to the air.

Chris Lowe, director of the Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach, suggested that the shark may have been trying to dislodge parasites that often attach to sharks' skin.

"Think of it as a way to try to scratch their backs ," Lowe told the Orange County Register.

Or, perhaps the young shark was just trying to enjoy the fabulous weather that SoCal is so famous for.

"Maybe it's play," Lowe, whose research team tagged at least seven sharks last year at Sunset Beach, said. "We just don't know."

Whatever the case, Palumbo and his friend Ben Slayback were not in the mood for playtime. After the pair saw the shark on Monday, they immediately bailed on their surf session.

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"I said it's time to go ," Slayback told CBS LA. "No playing around."

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