Seal Narrowly Escapes Hungry Shark

Nature can be brutal, and predators are going to feast on prey, but every once in a while we like to see the little guys win one by outwitting those higher up on the food chain. That's why we love these photographs of a seal barely escaping the jaws of a hungry shark.

• David "Baz" Jenkins, 41, was aboard a shark tour boat off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa, when he witnessed a great white shark emerge from the deep to attack and eat a seal. "The seals were making their way back to Seal Island after feeding out at sea and the sharks travel below them," Jenkins said.

  
  

 

Jenkins described how it is easy for the sharks to sneak up on the seals from below. "The sharks are really well camouflaged, due to their dark backs and when the seal looks down it is hard to make out the shark in the dark below. When the shark picks its time to attack, it can accelerate at around 25 mph upwards which can send both the shark and the seal flying up out of the water."

In this case, the element of surprise was not enough for the shark's attack to succeed. The huge fish seemed to miss its mark, lunging futilely as its prey wriggled away.

• The seal avoided the great white shark's hungry chomps a couple of times, dodging its razor-sharp teeth and even balancing on the shark's nose at one point, mere inches away from the gaping maw just below it.

 

DAVID JENKINS / CATERS NEWS 

 

"I have seen a shark lose a tooth on a decoy breach before but never when attacking and killing a real seal," Jenkins said. "This seal was one lucky pup."

http://www.pawnation.com/seal-narrowly-escapes-hungry-shark