A marine animal startled swimmers at Miami Beach last Monday, causing a stampede toward the shore in an incident captured on video and posted on TikTok by user @maibelmorales3, identified as Maibel, a Cuban residing in the United States.
The overlay text in the clip said it all: "This just happened, here's the location." The images show crystal-clear, turquoise waters, shallow and under a light blue sky, typical conditions for a beach day in Miami.
According to the description of the incident, "some said it was a small shark while others claimed it was a tarpon; in any case, the bathers quickly jumped out of the water in fright."
The confusion between both species is common along the southern coasts of Florida. The tarpon (Megalops atlanticus) is a large, silver fish known for its swift movements that frequents the coastal waters of Miami Beach, especially near the surface, and can easily be mistaken for a shark from a distance or by inexperienced swimmers.
Experts from Florida Gulf Coast University have noted in previous incidents that sharks approach the shore mainly because they are chasing schools of tarpon, which brings them into swimming areas very close to beachgoers.
In a previous case documented by a Miami firefighter, the filmer himself confessed to initially thinking that the animals were "a tarpon or something like that" before identifying four shark-like animals near South Beach.
Shark sightings in Miami Beach are not uncommon. In September 2024, a shark was spotted swimming near the shore in front of the Setai Hotel; in July 2024, several sharks were seen on the beaches of Miami; and in August 2023, sharks frightened bathers in the same area.
The most striking precedent occurred on June 11, 2020, when four sharks were spotted just 20 meters from the shore at South Beach, the first day of the beaches' reopening after the lockdown due to the pandemic.
Florida historically leads the United States in shark sightings and bites. In 2025, it recorded 11 unprovoked bites, constituting 44% of the national total, although none were fatal. In Miami-Dade, one unprovoked bite was reported that year.
By the end of May 2026, the Tracking Sharks tracker reported three shark bites across the country, with no fatalities recorded.
The researcher Catherine Macdonald from the University of Miami has previously noted that the increased presence of sharks in the region during the warmer months is normal and usually not a cause for concern, although this does not prevent each new viral sighting from renewing the fear among those who enjoy the beaches of South Florida.
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