Incredible drone footage has emerged of over 70 huge tiger sharks tearing apart a dead humpback whale in the crystal clear waters of Shark Bay, on the Western Australia coastline.
Two boatloads of tourists were lucky enough to witness the feeding frenzy first-hand, watching on from above as the school of hungry sharks ruthlessly ate away at the enormous frame of the whale.
The aerial vision was captured by Eco Abrolhos, an island tour company that stumbled upon the attack just four days into a 14-day cruise to the Kimberley, travelling from Geraldton to Broome.
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Feeding frenzy: Two boatloads of tourists on a cruise along the Western Australia coastline witnessed first-hand a school of over 70 sharks tearing apart a dead humpback whale
The holidayers watched on in amazement as the apex predators tore apart the dead whale, ripping off huge chunks of flesh at a time
Drone footage shows the crystal clear water turn murky as the blood of the deceased whale spreads
The aerial vision was captured by Eco Abrolhos Island Tours, whose charter stumbled upon the primal attack just four days into a 14-day cruise to the Kimberley
The attack took place in Shark Bay, a World Heritage Site that is home for 28 different species of sharks
It’s unclear whether the whale, which appears to be close to fifteen metres long and would weigh about 36,000 kilograms, was killed by the tiger sharks or died of natural reasons
Tiger sharks are known to prey on whales, often targeting distressed or sick adults for their next meal
As the drone surveys the primal hunting scene from above, sharks can be seen circling the mangled whale carcass, biting off huge chunks of flesh at a time before swimming away.
The glassy aqua water becomes a dark shade of red as the blood of the deceased whale spreads.
It’s unclear whether the whale, which appears to be close to fifteen metres long and would weigh about 36,000 kilograms, was killed by the tiger sharks or died of natural reasons.
Tiger sharks, responsible for a large percentage of fatal attacks on humans, have a reputation for eating anything and are known to prey on juvenile humpbacks or adults in distress.
Shark Bay has one of the largest adult populations of the apex predator tiger shark, which can grow up to six-and-a-half metres long and weight 520 kilograms.
Shark Bay, where the feeding frenzy took place, has one of the largest adult populations of tiger sharks
The drone was able to capture the incredible feeding display from a number of different angles
Jay Cox, cruise operator for Eco Abrolhos told Daily Mail Australia it was the closest he had ever gotten to that amount of tiger sharks.
‘We had passengers from Perth, Melbourne and Sydney – they said it was the most amazing thing they’d ever seen in their life,’ Mr Cox said,
‘We went round for two hours right up close and personal you could reach over and touch them (the sharks). They were very docile and very well fed, we counted around 70 tiger sharks of all shapes and sizes. Some of them were up to six metres long.’
He said it was likely the whale had accidentally followed a channel into the shallow water, became breached and then drowned, before being attacked by the school of sharks.
Tiger sharks, responsible for a large percentage of fatal attacks on humans, have a reputation for eating anything
