CHILLING drone footage shows a group of surfers circling and falling into the water oblivious to three great white sharks lurking beneath the water.
The film was shot off Capistrano Beach in Orange County, California on August 21, and shows the surfers towing each other around using a speedboat.
The men are seen falling just yards from the animals and sitting on their boards while they wait for the boat to come back around.
Sharks are known to sometimes attack swimmers and surfers paddling on their boards, mistaking them for prey such as seals or dolphins.
The footage was captured by Matt Larmand, a professional photographer who lives in the area and had spent the summer trying to catch footage of great whites.
He was a quarter of a mile away from the surfers with no means of alerting them to the danger.
“It was almost like they could care less they were there,” Larmand told the Ocean County Register.
“One of the clips I have, the guy being towed by the Jet Ski, they were going by and went past by six to seven feet away, and the shark could care less if they went right past him.
“The sharks were being really mellow.
“I was freaking out. I was like, ‘He has no idea there’s a shark right next to them.'”
“He was just sitting there, he had no clue.
“I would be freaking out if I was him, it was just insane to watch.”
He estimated on of the sharks was at least eight foot in length, indicating a large juvenile.
Experts say that younger sharks, in the six to seven-foot range, tend to be more docile and simply in search of warmer water and small food such as string rays, whereas larger juveniles tend to be more curious and therefore dangerous.
The end of the footage shows both men on their boat looking into the water, seemingly having realised they were in danger.
Social media users reacted strongly after Larmand posted the footage to his Facebook page.
“This is why I stick to the beach!” wrote one.
“This is amazing footage. I love our healthy sea life,” wrote another.
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