A group of tourists in California got a gory treat on a ferry ride Sunday – a shark feeding frenzy as Great White sharks tore apart the carcass of a dead whale.
A seabird has its own way with the floating carcass as two Great Whites fight over the dead whale
The video from Island Packers, a ferry and tour company, shows the sharks ripping large chucks from the floating whale.
At 30 feet long and four to five tons, a single whale makes quite the buffet for a pack of hungry sharks.
At least three Great Whites and about a dozen smaller blue sharks circled the dead sea mammal.
Tourists riding the Island Packers ferry across the Santa Barbara Channel witnessed the mass feeding with a combination of wonder and slight disgust.
The witnesses could muster little more than ‘Woah!’ and ‘Oh my God!’ as they watched one Great White tear great chucks off the side of the dead while.
Island Packers says it is not clear what killed the whale.
The whale was sighted between Ventura, California, and the Channel Islands National Park.
‘This morning’s passengers were treated to a rare encounter as three Great Whites and about a dozen Blue Sharks feasted on a dead Minke Whale carcass floating in the SB Channel. Indian Summer conditions made for epic pictures!’ the company posted on its Facebook page.
Channel Islands National Park encompasses five of the eight islands off the Southern California coast.
The islands themselves and the waters around them are popular with wildlife watchers for frequent views of all manner of marine wildlife.
Numerous species of whales can be seen around the islands – including the blue whale, which the largest animal on Earth.
Agencies
