'Jaws' in real life; video captures great white shark jumping for biologist

WELLFLEET, Mass. – A biologist attempting to observe a great white shark ended up getting a little too close for comfort.

Video released Monday by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy shows a great white breaching the water, coming within feet of a man using a GoPro to record video of the shark in the water.

Massachusetts state biologist Greg Skomal was standing on the pulpit of the research boat last week when the shark made the leap, according to the Boston Globe.

After seeing the shark in the distance, the boat approached the area while Skomal tried to use a long pole to get the camera under the water line.

In the video of the incident, the boat's captain screams, "Holy crap! It dove right out of the water," seconds after the shark almost took a bite out of Skomal.

“It came right up, and opened its mouth right at my feet!” Skomal yells.

The conservancy is near the end of a five-year study of sharks near the Massachusetts coast.