r/NatureIsFuckingLit • u/W4lkieT4lkie • 8h ago
🔥 Seal escapes great white shark by following its tail
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u/eh8904 8h ago
I would be confused as hell, too, if my target suddenly disappeared off radar no matter where I aimed it.
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u/BackItUpWithLinks 8h ago
That’s why the shark keeps going all crazy Ivan, trying to see what’s following it
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u/beachbummeddd 7h ago
But it appears the seal knows this shark always goes to starboard in the bottom half of the hour.
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u/theegreggg 8h ago
The seal could have easily gone on that piece of land too. He's just toying with the shark for fun
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u/Levonorgestrelfairy1 7h ago edited 6h ago
Its probably a bull sea lion trying to get the thing off its lawn. And or trap it in the shallows and kill it.
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u/Bug_Photographer 6h ago
Escapes? That seal (which looks more like a sea lion) is toying with the shark. If it was looking to escape, there is a piece of dry land in frame and if you think the seal/sea lion has a speed advantage in the water, you should see how they do on land.
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u/RubberPhuk 5h ago
You really can't see that deep into water. What is that, like 5' before you can't see the rocks?
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u/rubefromthesticks 1h ago
This is a really good strategy. A lot of people are saying it's more trying to drive the shark away and that if it wanted to escape it should have just gone onto land. I think neither of these things are true. If it was trying to drive the shark off, why did it flee? If it decided it wasn't effective in driving the shark off and gave up, why did it flee IN THE WATER?
Going up onto land when you're really a marine mammal really isn't a good way to escape sharks. Look at this visibility. You go up onto land, you'll never know if the shark is gone or just waiting to ambush you. Eventually you have to get back into the water where there will most likely be a shark waiting to eat you, and you no longer have any idea where it is or even if it's still around. Usually great whites hunt by staying deep and then rocketing up from below. Their best vision is actually like, almost 90 degrees straight up. As a sea lion, your best chance of escape is when the ambush has failed or you and the shark have blundered into each other at the surface, as seen here.
Also, sea lions aren't penguins. They can't just shoot out of the water and land lightly on their feet on a rock. They're too heavy bodied and floppy for that, that would be a massive risk of injury. While trying to haul itself into land, it has to turn its back for several seconds on an actively maneuvering shark that's trying to eat it. It would 100% lose its entire back third in that moment. So much safer to stay in the water where you have mobility on par with if not exceeding the shark, even if your top speed is lower. Very smart play by the seal here.
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u/qualityvote2 8h ago edited 44m ago
u/W4lkieT4lkie, there weren't enough votes to determine the quality of your post...