Close encounters of the great white kind

Two daredevils risked serious injury by wading within feet of an injured 4.6m great white shark.

Dale Pearson paddled into the sea by his home in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico, to inspect the animal, which had been injured by a rotor blade of a boat.

In the end though it wasn't the huge predator Dale and his friend had to worry about - but a stingray which stung one of them on the foot.

The video begins with Dale walking out to sea and approaching the shark, which was thrashing around, spreading its blood through the water.

The shark appears to be stranded momentarily as Dale stands only metres away. Photo / Caters

A large gouge, which appears to be caused by a boat propeller, is visible behind the shark's dorsal fin. Photo / Caters

Dale says: "This is a big white shark, it has been hit by a propeller and is very sick."

His friend decided to go and get a speargun to protect his mate from the shark, but when he turned around he was attacked by a stingray.

He had to hobble back to shore where he showed off the painful-looking wound on his foot.

The shark was able to swim off after freeing itself from the shallow water.

It wasn't the shark that attacked in the end - it was the stingrays in the shallow bay.

Several people commenting on YouTube questioned the wisdom of approaching such a dangerous animal.

One wrote: "Why would you have gone into the water with a great white that is hurt and probably afraid and would defend itself as much as it could?

"That's not a smart thing to do. I wouldn't even go that close."

Another said: "These are protected animals. I would never want to try and mess with it. Besides it was eating stingrays and was fine and swam away."

The shark has reportedly been spotted in the area again and seems to be alive and well.