Great White Shark Attack Catches Alcatraz Visitors Off Guard [Video]

A great white shark attack video was taken recently by visitors to Alcatraz, the once maximum security prison that has become a tourist attraction. In fact, it was the fictional location of what has been considered one of the best movies ever made by Michael Bay, The Rock.

Sharks have been a source of morbid entertainment ever since Steven Spielberg’s original Jaws was released and made moviegoers afraid to swim by the beach. Statistically, you might have just as much chance of getting pulled out in the undertow and drowned than getting fatally attacked by a shark.

The underwater predator is also known for being among the biggest reasons why Alcatraz was considered a secure prison. Even if they managed to escape the facility, they might just end up being shark bait as they tried to swim away, but recent research suggests that to be unlikely.

No tourists were harmed when the great white shark attack videos above and below were recorded off the dock of the former prison. Instead when the video begins, the shark’s fin is clearly seen in an underwater cloud of blood. It isn’t clearly visible what the victim of the attack is until the sea predator starts swimming toward the dock and a chunk of meat surfaces. According to Newsweek, the chunk of flesh may have belonged to a sea lion or a seal, as the youngster in the audio suggested.

Those watching claimed it may have been the sea mammal’s heart that had begun floating away. This might not make much sense, though, as the heart is made of muscle and carries blood, two things which are often found in most meat sold in grocery stores.

Sea predators like the great white shark seen in the videos might not care so much about what part they snack on, though. In a previous report by the Inquisitr, a man off Hawaii’s north shore had lost his leg in a shark attack before literally punching the shark and dissuading it from taking any more.

Other continents might be less tolerant of the sea predators, as animal rights activists were angered in Australia. The cause of the uproar was due to a cull of the sharks last year. The Inquisitr also previously reported that while there was a spike in great white shark attacks, it was no indication of an increase in the sea predator’s population. The attempt to eliminate the animal for the safety of off-shore swimmers definitely didn’t please special interest groups.

An Alcatraz Ferry Captured THE BEST Video of that Great White Shark Attack in San Francisco Bay… http://t.co/jpqezyia6m

— Tijereta (@Tijereta_Net) October 14, 2015

Shark experts are saying that the attack witnessed by Alcatraz tourists was the first known sighting of the infamous great white. If true, those who saw it witnessed something extremely rare. The youngster who yelled “That’s the best thing I’ve ever seen in my life!” may have understated it.

One such expert, David McGuire suggested that the great white shark attack video may be an indication of improvement in the environment.

“It’s actually a sign that maybe the San Francisco Bay is getting a little healthier, that you have top predators like white sharks coming in. It’s the first known predation of a sea lion or seal that I know of in San Francisco Bay in historical times.

“One shark came in four times, so they’re probably coming around the front of the Bay, following prey, and then exiting. There is the myth of shark infested waters, but we like to say shark inhabited waters.”

According to KTVU, researchers have been tagging and tracking movements of the sea predator, and they may not be actually making the San Francisco Bay their home.

With all of this known, it makes the great white shark attack in the videos above extremely rare.

[Feature image via Dan Kitwood / Getty Images]