A shark feeding frenzy captured on video off the coast at Cape Lookout National Seashore in North Carolina has gone viral, drawing nearly 1.3 million views since it was posted on YouTube Monday.
The video, recorded earlier this month by cameraman Donnie Griggs, is like a real life "Sharknado," with about 100 sharks vigorously attacking a school of blue fish on the shoreline.
"As seagulls and pelicans joined in on the meal, the men began to cast into the surf, catching fish without the use of bait," Brian Recker, who posted the video, wrote in the YouTube caption. "For more than five minutes, the sharks were observed swimming in and out of the surf, some of which became beached in the fury."
"We want it to be clear that Cape Lookout and the surrounding beaches of Eastern North Carolina are extremely safe for swimming. The presence of these sharks and large schools of fish is actually a sign of a very healthy ecosystem," Recker continued.
Fisheries biologist Gregory Skomal told National Geographic what makes the video so rare is that such feeding frenzies usually take place hundreds of feet offshore.
"I haven't seen sharks feeding right on the shoreline before, with sharks being thrown up into the intertidal zone," said Skomal, who has studied sharks for the state of Massachusetts. "I think it's pretty rare."
Skomal told National Geographic that the sharks were concentrating so much on feeding that they repeatedly risked their own lives getting stranded on the beach to catch and finish their meals.
"They are so ravenous that they are only thinking about feeding," he said. "It's remarkable."
Fishermen have long found out that birds such as gulls and pelicans are outstanding indicators of where fish are located. At times, the birds even find themselves in competition with sharks for the same prey.
"A lot of fishermen learn that if you want to find fish, look for birds," Skomal said.
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