A local news outlet shared footage Wednesday showing a sea lion attacking and overpowering a blue shark in Monterey Bay, California.
The footage from ABC7 went viral as the sea lion was seen tossing the shark out of the water, ripping part of its jaw off and then swallowing it. California sea lions are not known to be shark killers. The sea animals typically go after smaller prey such as rockfish, anchovies and squid, according to NOAA Fisheries.
The internet was amused by the wild sea lion attack, per a Reddit post online. “They’re not called ‘sea LIONS’ for nothing,” one user wrote.
“Sea lions are vicious, seriously. I’ve seen people go up to pet them before and they get real aggressive real fast,” another said. (RELATED: Massive Shark Swims Under Kayaker In Horrifying Video)
In addition to becoming prey to the sea lion, blue sharks are becoming natural prey to humans, according to Daily Mail. Blue sharks are heavily targeted in “finning” practices, the Marine Mammal Care Center’s Dave Bader told the outlet. Finning involves poaching sharks for their fins, often leading to the dumping of their finless bodies back into the ocean, according to the Humane Society International.
“There used to be a whole lot more blue sharks,” Bader told Daily Mail. “Blue sharks are a normal thing for these waters. But they’re one of the species that’s been heavily depleted by ‘finning,’ shark fishing.”