Great White Sharks Filmed Feasting on Dolphin Over Memorial Day Weekend

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Several great white sharks were filmed feasting on a dolphin over Memorial Day weekend in California.

The great whites—which appear to be juvenile—were filmed attacking the dolphin just off the coast of Torrey Pines State Beach in San Diego.

In the footage, which was posted on May 28, a flurry of shark fins can be seen surrounding the dolphin as they tear it apart.

A stock photo shows a great white shark swimming. Footage shows great white sharks feasting on a dolphin off the coast of San Diego.
RamonCarretero/Getty

The nearly 10-foot-long dolphin later washed ashore on the beach covered in shark bites.

Only large sharks tend to hunt dolphins. Even then, they will tend to seek out smaller, or sick dolphins.

Usually, dolphins are able to easily protect themselves from sharks as they stay close together in their pods. Dolphins are also much faster swimmers than sharks, meaning many predators consider the chase not worth it. It is not clear how this dolphin came to be alone, without its pod. Juvenile sharks also tend to be bolder in attacking prey than an older shark.

California State Parks had been alerted to a shark sighting just 30 to 40 yards away from shore, Fox5 reported. Newsweek has contacted California State Parks.

Warning signs were posted in the area to alert people to the sharks lurking in the water, Torrey Pines State Beach said on Facebook.

There has been an increase in shark sightings in this area in recent have increased dramatically at Torrey Pines in recent years. There has been an increase in shark sightings in this area in recent years

Scientists from the Shark Lab at California State University Long Beach believe juveniles come to the area because it has warm and shallow water. This provides them with more safety from larger predators.

The sharks then likely stay there due to the abundance of food that accumulates in the rocky reefs.

It was in this same area that a woman was attacked by a shark in November 2022.

The woman had been swimming when the shark bit her on her upper right thigh, NBC7 reported at the time.

Her friend then began waving her arms, calling for help.

She was rushed to hospital were she received treatment for puncture and laceration wounds.

This was the first shark bite to ever occur in the area, lifeguards told NBC7.

Though shark attacks on humans remain rare, conflicts can occur. Bites are more common when the shark is actively hunting prey.

Although sharks do not hunt humans, they may mistake a human silhouette with its preferred food source.

Do you have an animal or nature story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about sharks? Let us know via [email protected].

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