Video: Great White Sharks Hunt Bat Rays, Risk Fatal Injury in Rare Drone Footage

For juvenile great white sharks, stingrays are a primary source of food.

And although the video below doesn’t involve any shark-on-surfer encounters – like the recent great white breaching at Lowers – it does show an in-depth view at how these creatures hunt and interact with their preferred prey…and the dangers they face.

The video comes from The Malibu Artist; hit play below.

“In my observations, I see white sharks near them [bat rays] on a daily basis,” the narration goes.

“And nearly every time, the sharks merely pass them by. The obvious question is: Why? One reason is that juvenile white sharks are still developing their hunting techniques, and their strategies.

“It can be said that perhaps these sharks are likely not hungry at the moment. But there is likely more a play here. And it suggests that sharks are likely smarter than we give them credit for.

“Here’s a shark I observed recently, going in for an attack on a ray hidden on the sea floor. When the shark comes up, I’m able to observe the price it paid.

“Notice, a sting ray barb is stuck in the shark’s mouth. The barb’s serrated edges, and the backwards facing barbs, are designed to make removal difficult. In fact, a barb could potentially cause injury or even death if not removed.

“Just recently, a white shark washed up in an area I film occasionally. The necropsy report indicated that the shark was killed due to swallowing the barb of a ray, thus cutting into the shark’s esophagus.

“Nature can be brutal.”

So, even great white sharks, often considered the apex ocean predator, face dangers.

Sting rays…a common enemy for sharks and surfers?

The more you know.

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