Photos of a massive school of sharks spotted just south of the Sebastian Inlet in Indian River County Thursday have Facebook users speculating about just what type of sharks they are.
John Massung of Indian River by Air tells NBC 6 South Florida that it's typical to see sharks in the water in north central Florida, but not quite like this.
"It looked like they had traveling in mind. They were heading north," he says.
Massung says the powerful camera he normally uses is in the shop, but even with his backup lens, he was able to catch incredible views of the sharks from his powered parachute.
"It was something to see," he says. "I did fly on for about a mile, and it didn't end!"
Massung says another person was flying to the east of him and the sharks were out that way as well. He was even able to spot a manatee and her baby calf swimming among the sharks.
"They weren't bothering anything. They were just swimming," he says.
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Since sharks don't come with name tags, Massung posted the photos to the group's Facebook page asking for input as to what type of sharks they are.
Since then, the post has been shared more than 1500 times with users speculating that they're anything from spinner sharks to black tips to bull sharks.
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While he doesn't proclaim to be an expert on marine life, Massung, who is originally from Pittsburgh, says he routinely sees sharks coming in through the inlet and into the Sebastian River this time of year as they prepare to give birth.
He says the group of sharks were still in the area Friday, but conditions were not as clear for photographs.
This isn't the first time a post to the Indian River by Air Facebook page has picked up steam. Last August, Massung snapped an incredible photograph of a group of rays coming into the ocean. The group was so large they couldn't all fit in the frame, so he zoomed into a cross section to see the rays layered on top of each other.
"It was an amazing picture, and we had 110,000 hits in just a couple of days," he says.
For more photos and videos, visit Indian River by Air.
