Zombie shark still hunts despite being ‘half eaten’
THIS is the incredible moment a researcher spots a shark still hunting – despite being “half eaten”.
The scientist, who was releasing a blackhead shark on the ocean floor, was stunned to see the monster injured in a cannibal attack.
Dr Mario Lebrato, 35, from Spain, said he had captured extremely rare footage off the coast of Mozambique – about one to two meters below the Indian Ocean’s surface.
But when he and his team released the shark, another group of predators attacked it, causing a series of deadly injuries.
According to the researcher, they include several bull sharks – some weighing 300-400 kg.
And despite the onslaught and the loss of a large part of its lower body, the shark continued to fight for its life when it was seen swimming away.
Dr Lebrato explained that the shark struggled for about 20 minutes before being injured.
He added: “Sharks eat sharks, that’s well known, but filming and documenting is super difficult.”
In 2019, rare images surfaced showing the bloody aftermath of a brutal fight between two man-eating Great White sharks.
The terrifying photos have supported the previous theory that sharks ate their own flesh as a food source.
At the time, Professor Meekan, from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, said: “It’s not just a rogue shark that attacks other sharks or even a species of shark that attacks other sharks. But there are many different species of sharks that attack each other.”
He believes attacks are steadily increasing because of the ways humans are trying to keep hungry predators away from swimmers.
Many nets and hooks are covered and deployed, but the hooked shark sends a distress signal and is picked up by rival predators, who prefer an easy meal.
Previous research has shown that apex predators have been cannibalizing each other for more than a millennium.
An examination of fossilized feces taken from prehistoric orthacanthus – a shark that swam in the ocean 300 million years ago – revealed it contained fossilized baby shark teeth.
Professor Meekan added: “That shows that 300m years ago were cannibalistic sharks.
“Sharks eating sharks is a fundamental trait.”
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