What scares sharks? Video shows them frantically dodge 14-foot ‘monster’ off Florida
A drone video recorded off Florida is proving size matters with sharks, and the little ones are definitely afraid of the big ones.
In this case, it’s dozens of blacktip sharks versus a single hammerhead that is twice their size.
The 3-minute video, which has 1.1 million views views, shows hundreds of migrating blacktip sharks just off the beach when a hammerhead appears. The larger shark gives chase and the video shows multiple instances of blacktips narrowly missing being eaten.
However, at least one blacktip meets its doom near the end of the video, when two silhouettes in the aqua water merge into one.
The video was posted on YouTube on Wednesday by BlacktipH, an “extreme online fishing show” with 2.8 million subscribers. It was filmed off Florida’s east coast in between February and March of this year.
“There’s thousands of sharks that migrate here and with those sharks there’s monster hammerheads,” angler Joshua Jordensen says in the video. “These are giant sharks, 14-feet-plus in length, and these things weigh well over a thousand pounds. They feed on the blacktip sharks, which is so cool.”
Blacktip sharks can grow to 8 feet, but they average about 5 feet, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History. Meanwhile, hammerheads can reach 18 to 20 feet, the museum reports.
The “massive migration” involves thousands of blacktip and spinner sharks moving south along the East Coast in early winter, then returning north starting in April, according to BlacktipChallenge.com.
“Although these large schools of blacktip and spinner sharks dominate the coastal food chain, they remain subject to their own fate. Large hammerheads and bull sharks follow these congregations ... as their yearly food source,” the site says. “It is not uncommon to see a 13-foot hammerhead with a 6 foot blacktip in its mouth.”
The Florida museum reports both blacktip and hammerhead sharks have been involved in “unprovoked attacks” on people around the world, including at least 29 attacks involving blacktip sharks.
“Blacktip sharks are responsible for roughly 20% of the attacks that occur in Florida waters, often striking surfers,” the museum reports.
This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 12:23 PM with the headline "What scares sharks? Video shows them frantically dodge 14-foot ‘monster’ off Florida."