Chilling moment massive shark stalks two paddleboarders and divides them for the kill in rare encounter

THIS is the chilling moment a massive shark stalked two paddleboarders and divided them in a rare encounter.

The apex predator circled the pair in shallow water before slowing gliding between them head-on and splitting them up.

The incredibly "rare" encounter in waters off California, USA, was captured by shark lover Scott Fairchild and shared on his Instagram account.

"Sometimes the white sharks are confidently curious," the videographer said.

"Usually self preservation always comes first. This is more rare, intentionally approaching head on, and if you notice, pausing when there is a perfect triangle of separation.

"Then choosing to put itself in the middle, between two people. As always though, its spatial awareness is on-point, as it perfectly splits the difference."

It's not entirely clear what breed of shark is in the clip.

Another clip showed the terrifying moment a great white swam directly at a stand-up paddleboarder.

The swimmer spots the shark and decides to calmly regroup and avoid the underwater beast.

Fairchild shares clips of shark encounters to help change public perceptions of the highly-attuned hunters.

"These Great White Sharks are not some mindless monster to be vilified like they often are in the movies or on the news," he wrote in a recent post.

"These are highly skilled and intelligent animals who deserve our respect, our protection."

Sharks commonly stalk their prey before attacking but less commonly approach them "head-on".

The active hunters circle their food from a distance away before moving in for the kill, according to .

They are most likely to hunt in the early morning or late evening when less light penetrates the water, making them harder to see.

Last month, a shark was filmed swimming in the rising flood waters of Hurricane Ian.

A  shared on Twitter Wednesday captured the creature as it thrashed against the surge waters off Fort Myers while Florida gets bombarded by the deadly 155mph storm.

The shark's fins can be seen flipping out of the shallow water around 100 yards inland in the city's downtown district.

Instead of being frightened, some Twitter users showed sympathy toward the struggling shark.

"Poor Shark is stuck now," one wrote.

Someone replied: "He needs some help out of there. Blown up in the surge."

Other users added some humour calling it a scene out of "Sharknado."

Hurricane Ian made landfall in Cayo Costa, Florida, USA, on Wednesday, with winds recorded at 155 miles per hour.