Adorable moment a girl, 11, picks up a stricken shark trapped between rocks and puts it back into the water in a heartwarming rescue
- Billie Rea, 11, spotted the struggling draughtboard shark and sprang into action
- Incredible footage showed the schoolgirl lifting the small shark out of the water
- Her mother Abby Gilbert said her daughter had an ‘innate sense’ it was there
Incredible footage has captured the moment an 11-year-old girl saved a small shark trapped between rocks with her bare hands.
Billie Rea was out with her mother Abby Gilbert and brother Flin on Wednesday when she saw the stranded draughtboard shark at Kingston Beach, south of Hobart in Tasmania.
Video footage shows the schoolgirl balancing precariously on slippery rocks before save the struggling fish.
The youngster was out with her mother Abby Gilbert and brother Flin on Wednesday when she saw the stranded draughtboard shark (pictured)
Incredible footage showed the schoolgirl lifting the small, harmless shark out of the water, tucking it under her arm and scaling moss-covered boulders to carry it to safety (pictured)
‘She just, without letting me know what was happening or doubting herself at all, she just went straight down,’ Ms Gilbert told the ABC.
In the video clip, the schoolgirl was seen lifting the small, harmless shark out of the water, tucking it under her arm and scaling moss-covered boulders to carry it to safety.
‘As soon as [the shark] came into view, I knew what it was and I knew that it couldn’t hurt her,’ the mother-of-two said.
Ms Gilbert she there was ‘no way’ she would have seen the shark herself and said her daughter seemed to have an ‘innate sense that it was there’.
Pictured: 11-year-old Billie Rea holding her toy draughtboard shark at home in Tasmania
Pictured: Billie Rea and her brother Flin after releasing the shark, south of Hobart in Tasmania
Abby Gilbert (pictured) she there was ‘no way’ she would have seen the shark herself and said her daughter seemed to have an ‘innate sense that it was there’
She was in awe of her daughter’s caring nature and believes the animal didn’t struggle because it felt safe with her.
‘It’s a proud mama moment to be sure,’ she wrote in a heartwarming Facebook post.
‘Billie has a undeniable connection with animals … We talked about how she can “read” their energy.’
Ms Gilbert, who runs a wilderness restoration business, said her daughter has been guided into becoming a native wildlife rescuer and carer, thanks to one of her school teachers.
She told the publication that her daughter is always coming home with orphaned baby animals to look after, before releasing them back into the wild.
Ms Gilbert said her daughter has been guided into becoming a native wildlife rescuer and carer, thanks to one of her school teachers. Pictured: Billie Rea caring for an orphaned wallaby
The draughtboard shark (stock image) is a bottom dwelling species growing to 1.5m in length