A tour company’s drone captured the bloody scene when a school of tiger sharks chowed down on the carcass of a humpback whale drifting in the waters off Western Australia.
The tiger sharks set upon the dead whale in aptly named Shark Bay on Friday, Day 4 of a 14-day cruise from Geraldton to Broome Island, a region known for its natural beauty, history, scenic landscapes and fishing.
Drone clip exceeds 1 million views
Eco Abrolhos Cruises, which dispatched the drone from its ship, posted the footage Saturday with the comment: “Feeding frenzy at Shark Bay – Tigers having a whale of a time.”
The 2.5-minute clip surpassed 1 million views on Monday afternoon. “Something to show and tell the grandchildren,” the company wrote in another post.
Two small boats, ferrying tourists from the larger Eco ship, slowly circled around the bloody scene as the tiger sharks ripped into the whale’s carcass, sending a plume of blood into the pristine waters.
Memorable experience for passengers
“This was truly amazing to witness this act of nature,” passenger Neil Edwards commented, noting the drone footage far exceeded his own videos and photos.
“We liked, liked, liked. Awesome day yesterday, thanks so much,” another passenger, Leesa Franks, commented.
Listed as a World Heritage site in 1991, Shark Bay, about 500 miles north of Perth, is a haven for marine life, including humpback whales, sharks, manatees and turtles. It’s also home to varied formations of stromatolites, rock-like structures that are similar to life forms found on Earth up to 3.5 billion years ago.
Worldwide, there are about 400 species of sharks, around 180 species of which occur in Australian waters. Sharks occur in all habitats around the Australian coast line, however most are found on the continental slope or shelf, primarily on the bottom. Many sharks are also found in coastal waters and a small number are even found in freshwater systems, such as rivers and estuaries.
