Cannibal Shark: Hammerhead Tries To Eat Blacktip Off Fisherman’s Line


A large shark is making waves once again near Florida’s Bonita Beach, as a hammerhead has been filmed trying to prey upon a smaller blacktip shark, cannibalizing the predator as it was caught on a fisherman’s line.

The video was filmed by a group of boaters on Tuesday about 15 miles off Bonita Beach, and immediately sparked interest when it was posted to the Facebook page of Wink News. As the group filmed, a six-foot-long hammerhead circled their boat, inching closer to a smaller blacktip shark that one of the anglers had hooked. After just a moment’s hesitation, the hammerhead attacked the smaller shark while the blacktip tried to flee despite the line that held it near the boat.

Captain Jeff Littlejohn, who operates a fishing charter in south Fort Meyers, noted that it was far from uncommon to see larger sharks attempting to prey upon their smaller brethren. Pointing out that the larger sharks often see the smaller predators as an easy meal, he also related that he had caught a hammerhead recently in the same area.

“Sharks are pretty plentiful right now, especially the hammerheads around that area, bout five or six foot, the average,” he said.

The footage comes to light just days after another shark was filmed in Bonita Beach, closely approaching the shore. Though the species of shark was not identified, according to KTRK-TV, the animal was filmed in just a few feet of water, circling within the surf. A family of beachgoers at first mistook the shark for a dolphin, but prudently exited the water anyway, shortly before the predator’s fin was spotted breaking the surface.

Local charter captains have related that they’ve spotted numerous sharks in the region around Bonita Beach over the last few weeks. Last month, footage of a massive gathering of sharks in the Gulf of Mexico was filmed from an oil platform located roughly 30 miles from the Louisiana coast. As the Inquisitr previously reported, the gathering was composed mainly of blacktip and spinner sharks, smaller species that are undertaking a yearly migration. Similarly, large schools of sharks have been spotted off the Florida coastline as well over the past few weeks.

Though hammerhead sharks make their habitat in Southwest Florida year-round, experts assert that they pose little danger to beachgoers.

[Image: Leroy Cooper via Wink News]

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