Stunning picture shows 16-foot thresher shark leaping from water in Wales

A large shark surprised onlookers when it popped out of the water in Wales this week.

An estimated 16-foot-long thresher shark was spotted leaping off the coast of New Quay, Ceredigion, Wales, by photographer Joshua Pedley, 28.

The photographer said he was in shock when he saw the “huge animal jump up out of the water,” BBC reported.

“I have never seen a Thresher Shark before. I have been working in these waters for the last five years as well! So it is an unusual sighting, you’ve got to get very lucky to be in the right place at the right time to see it,” he told Wales Online.

“While it is unusual, it isn’t unheard of!”

He was leading a one-hour dolphin-watching trip when the shark emerged at 1:35 p.m.

Pedley said the large shark jumped out of the water three times, he told the local outlet.

“A truly remarkable sighting of a truly remarkable animal! It breached three times in total, the initial breach caught my attention and then the photograph I managed was from one of the following two breaches,” he said.

 “Very lucky to find ourselves in the right place at the right time!”

Thresher sharks are harmless to humans, according to Pedley.

Adult threshers can reach up to 20 feet long and feed on schools of fish, squid, and seabirds, according to NOAA.

They use their long tails to stun their prey.