Drone footage from the Australian coast shows a swarm of reef sharks tearing apart the floating carcass of a deceased humpback whale.
At least 60 sharks can be seen spinning in a spiral around the blubbery carcass during the feeding frenzy. Still, eyewitnesses estimate there may have been more than 100 sharks enjoying the whale banquet.
Indonesian people look at two dead whale sharks in Surabaya on October 26, 2015, after they were accidentally snared by fishermen. Indonesia in 2013 declared the whale shark a protected species, including it in the International Union for Conservation of Natures red list of threatened species. Despite their mammoth size, these docile sharks, the largest fish in the sea, are filter feeders and are harmless to humans.
Sharks Enjoy Eating Humpback Whale Corpse in a Buffet
The footage was first shared on Instagram on May 15 by jindys_travels.
Fisherman John Cloke and Indy Crimmins shot the drone footage off the coast of Norman's Beach near Albany, Western Australia.
As mentioned in the Instagram video, many sharks surrounded the big humpback whale corpse as part of their afternoon buffet. The Instagram user shared nearly a week after the incredible encounter.
After the whale corpse washed up off the shore of Albany, especially on Western Australia's south coast, the feeding frenzy began.
Cloke apparently couldn't count the sharks and estimated that there were at least 100 sharks circling the body, according to Australian news site ABC News.
As the drone zoomed out, the general movement and number of sharks could be seen.
Cloke and Crimmins were camping at the beach when they observed a massive splash floating on the water, which drew the attention of nearby birds.
The humpback whale (Megaptera novaengliae) was 49 feet long (15 meters).
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Scavenging Now Very Common
A close look at a situation like the popular video footage of sharks and other scavengers dining on dead whales does not happen very often. However, experts suggest that the occurrence is very common, Live Science reported.
Dr. Steve Taylor, a research scientist with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, told ABC News that whale corpses sometimes attract significant numbers of sharks.
The film is fascinating but not exceptional, according to Taylor, who works in the field of shark studies.
Shark Behavior Explained
Taylor also told ABC News that the shark swarm included reef shark species such as bronze whalers (Carcharhinus brachyurus).
Nonetheless, the humpback whale corpse is advantageous to not just reef sharks but also other shark species in coastal seas.
Researchers looked into the behavior of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) and tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) scavenging whale carcasses in a study published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation in July 2019.
The carcasses of a sperm whale (Physeter microcephalus) in 2015, a fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) in 2018, and another humpback whale in 2018 were found on the east coast of New South Wales by the scientists.
Sharks are recognized for their scavenging behavior toward whale carcasses in general, according to the study. The experts cited primary literature and said shark scavenging behavior is dependent on the whale carcass and shark species present in the vicinity.
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