Tiger sharks are usually solitary creatures, but nothing brings scavengers together like the delicious smell of a dead whale.
These huge blubber buffets can draw dozens of sharks at once, but such feasts are rarely caught on camera.
In late June, a drone flying off the coast of Queensland, Australia captured an exceptional gathering of about 50 tiger sharks tearing at the carcass of a dead humpback whale.
The rare sighting is important for shark research and serves as a warning to local swimmers.
„Where there are dead whales, there are likely to be sharks nearby, and this sighting clearly shows why.” Warnings Senior Ranger Daniel Clifton (DES) from the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
„The death of a whale, while tragic, creates a source of life for many other animals, including fish, sharks and other marine life. We are fortunate here at Great Sandy Marine Park that we can experience these natural processes first hand.”
frameborder=”0″ permission=”accelerometer; automatic; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; Gyroscope; picture-picture; web-share” license>
Officials anchored Humpback’s remains in a safe place in Hervey Bay to ensure the natural feeding event could be easily observed at sea.
From directly above, drone footage shows the silhouettes of sharks circling the whale’s carcass. Occasionally, an individual shark can be seen pouncing on a whale and thrashing its body back and forth.
At one point in the video, you can see a yellow cloud moving out from under the whale. A sign of gasses and juices from its stomach seeping into the water.
Scientists are only studying whale extinction events like this one For the past 30 yearsand tiger sharks (Galeocerto Cuvier) are frequent visitors, and it is not uncommon for their species to mate with others, such as great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) or bull sharks (Carcharhinus Leucas)
Off the coast of Australia, researchers actually Recorded A few instances of great whites and tiger sharks simultaneously feeding on whale carcasses apparently peacefully.
Saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) Sometimes even join the fight.
frameborder=”0″ permission=”accelerometer; automatic; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; Gyroscope; picture-picture; web-share” license>
Sharks may have been some of the first creatures to feast on whales, but their remains have kept deep-sea ecosystems busy for decades.
When a whale dies naturally, the blubber and gas in its body keep it afloat for a while. However, as gardeners begin to pick up the remains, the skeleton inevitably begins to sink.
This is known as 'whale fall’ and provides essential nutrients to sea floor organisms from above. Eels, worms, crabs and octopuses have all been recorded feasting on whale skeletons at extreme depths. They even gnaw on bones.
With so many hungry mouths to feed, no part of a dead whale goes to waste.
Even in death, these noble creatures bring renewed life to the ocean.
„Oddany rozwiązywacz problemów. Przyjazny hipsterom praktykant bekonu. Miłośnik kawy. Nieuleczalny introwertyk. Student.