Bobcat Pulls Shark Out Of The Ocean: Wildlife Experts Say Viral Photo Is Rare, But Not Fake

A bobcat caught a shark and pulled it from the ocean in a bizarre moment caught on film, one that wildlife experts say is extremely rare.

The incredible moment was captured by John Bailey, who was at Sebastian Inlet State Park in Vero Beach, Florida. Bailey said he was watching the four-foot shark feeding on fish in shallow water near the edge of the beach and saw the bobcat starting at it.

The bobcat then struck quickly, pulling the shark from the water.

“Initially, it was pretty quick,” Bailey told WPLG-TV, “Spotted it, pulled it up [and] the shark floundered for a while.”

The photo went viral this week, spreading on social media and gaining thousands of user votes on Reddit. But many thought the picture was too incredible to be true, and some accused Bailey of either staging the photo or making it up.

National Geographic looked into the allegations, and found experts were in agreement — the picture of the bobcat killing the shark was indeed real.

The report noted, “Liz Barraco, a spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, says ‘we have no reason to believe [the photograph is] fake.'”

“Bobcats are known to eat a variety of mammals and birds and they occasionally eat fish, notes Barraco. ‘But this is the first time we’ve seen them fishing in saltwater.’

Still, it’s not too surprising since bobcats are opportunistic predators, she says.

National Geographic Photo Editor Ken Geiger added that an examination of the photo, made on an iPhone 6, revealed it was indeed legitimate.

The outlet also spoke to Seth Riley, a biologist and professor at UCLA, who said he had never seen anything like that in years of studying bobcats, but isn’t surprised given their aggressive nature.

Other wildlife experts expressed a bit of surprise that Bailey was able to capture the incredible picture in the first place. Bobcats are notoriously reclusive and avoid humans whenever possible, they note.

As the picture illustrates, people love to see nature at its fiercest. There have been a number of other viral photos and videos of the sort, including a lioness attacking a crocodile to protect her cubs in Africa.

But this story didn’t have a happy ending for everyone, Bailey noted. He said the bobcat dropped the shark and ran off as soon as it noticed him taking the picture.

[Image: John Bailey via First Coast News]