This is the astonishing moment when a researcher discovers a shark that is still searching for its prey – even though it is «half eaten».
The scientist, who was releasing an ocean black shark into the sea, was stunned when he saw the injured beast collapse in a cannibal attack.
Dr. Mario Liberato, 35, from Spain, said he caught an extremely rare clip off the coast of Mozambique – one to two meters below the surface of the Indian Ocean.
But when he and his group release the shark, it is attacked by a different group of predators, causing a series of fatal injuries.
According to the researcher, they included many bull sharks – some weighed 300-400 kilograms.
Despite the attack and losing much of its lower body, the shark continued to fight for its life as it was seen swimming away.
Dr. Liberato explained that the shark struggled for about 20 minutes before overcoming its injuries.
He added, «Sharks eat sharks, this is a known fact, but it is very difficult to photograph and document it.»
In 2019, rare photos of it appeared Showed the bloody effects of the fierce fight between two great white sharks of cannibals.
The terrifying images supported previous theories that sharks eat themselves as a food source.
At the time, Professor Mikan, of the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences, said: «It’s not just a rogue shark that attacks other sharks or even one species of other shark. It’s many different sharks turning on each other.»
He believed that attacks were steadily increasing due to the ways humans were trying to keep hungry predators away from swimmers.
More nets and hook lines are scattered, but hooked sharks send out distress signals that are picked up by competing predators who fancy an easy meal.
Previous research has shown that apex predators have been eating each other for more than a thousand years.
Examination of fossilized feces taken from a prehistoric orthacanthus – a shark that swam the oceans 300 million years ago – found that it contained small fossilized shark teeth.
Professor Mikan added: «This shows that 300 million years ago these sharks were cannibals.
«The shark on the shark predator is an essential feature.»
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