The origins of the notorious “shark on flooded highway” photo

During North America’s storm season, the social media trends have very much settled into a familiar trope.

There are the weather satellite images updated by the hour. The unsettling images of people fleeing their homes and towns. Stories of tragic loss and inspiring tales of heroism and sacrifice.

And then there is the misinformation.

And there is one piece of misinformation that seems to be more persistent and notorious than all the others. The highway shark.

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It’s a shark that, if social media is to be believed, as cruised many flooded highways (and even buildings) in several states spanning well over a decade. And for us, the highway shark has become just as synonymous with America’s fervid storm season as reindeer have become to Christmas.

The photo of the unfettered shark, apparently taken by a presumably bewildered photographer from a vehicle in which the vast fish is swimming alongside. Seemingly indifferent to the chaos surrounding it, it could just as well be trying to conquer the rush hour traffic on its way to work.

The photo is fake, and we know where the original image came from, as we demonstrate a little lower down this article. But first, some of its well-known appearances over the years.

One of the first instances of the photo being attributed to a storm or hurricane came in 2011 when it was posted in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.

My favorite picture of Hurricane Irene so far, shark in the street.

A year later in 2012 the shark had traveled north to New Jersey during Hurricane Sandy.

Probably the scariest photo I’ve seen of hurricane sandy, a shark swimming through a road in New Jersey.

In 2017, the shark was swimming along a freeway in Houston, Texas, during Hurricane Harvey.

Believe it or not, this is a shark on the freeway in Houston, Texas. #HurricaneHarvy

Again in 2017, the shark was apparently in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma.

Exclusive pic of a shark on the highway in Puerto Rico #HurricaneIrma

In 2018, the shark was apparently spotted in North Carolina during Hurricane Florence.

Believe it or not, this is a shark on the freeway in New Bern, North Carolina. #HurricaneFlorence

In 2021 during Hurricane Ida, the shark was seen in New Orleans, Louisiana.

BREAKING: shark spotted on I-10 in New Orleans, LA evacuating from Hurricane Ida.

And the same shark was photoshopped into another fake image back in 2012. And he (or she) now has a pal after apparently visiting the Kuwait Scienfitic Center.

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Okay, where did the highway shark come from originally?

It may be one of the most viewed sharks of all time thanks to the common hoax that it has been traversing down flooded highways. But the original shark dates back to 2003 (and was soon later published in a September 2005 edition of National Geographic).

It was taken by photographer Thomas Peschak, who snapped the shark tailing the bright yellow kayak of fellow scientist Trey Snow off the coast of South Africa. The original photo – that actually shows the shark in its real habitat – is below.

Sitting in a 3.8 metre sea kayak and watching a four-metre great white approach you is a fairly tense experience

Peschak in 2018 discussed more details about how the photo came about – as well as commenting on the photo’s propensity for Internet hoaxes – in a National Geographic blog post here.

Given the extraordinary lifespans of Great White sharks, our globe trotting shark could easily still be alive and well. But whatever the case, its image will more than likely live on, haunting social media with its presence in the aftermath of any serious storm.