Drone captures rare footage of dolphin pod stalking and hunting shark prey
A drone hobbyist has captured the incredible moment a dolphin stalked and hunted down the ultimate predator of the sea.
Sharks are typically viewed as being on the top of the ocean’s food chain.
But the drone has captured something bigger, meaner and no less deadly, stalking a shark off the coast of Cronulla, south of Sydney.
The drone flyer, Bruno Kataoka, has tracked what experts believed were false killer whales, members of the dolphin family.
The dolphins were hunting a juvenile shark, in a life and death chase as the pod tried to tire out their prey.
Seconds later, the leader of the pod can be seen attacking the shark, grabbing it in its jaws, dragging it towards the deep.
Mr Kataoka said he was just at the right place at the right time.
Marine Biologist Georgina Wood told 7 News that the footage was a ‘rare catch’.
“Oh it’s amazing, that kind of footage is just so rare to catch,” she said.
The footage has excited marine experts as false killer whales aren’t seen often, despite existing in large numbers further out to sea.
“We generally see a lot of action from humpbacks here in Sydney, especially during these winter months,” Ms Wood said.
“They (humpbacks) can get up to around 14-15 metres long, so you can see these are a lot smaller, maybe three to five metres”.
Whale watching season kicks off in two weeks and its expected watchers won’t be disappointed this year.
More than 20,000 humpback whales alone are expected to pass Sydney heads.
Spectators only need to be two kilometres off the coast to see one.
Tour operators are also considering taking drones along for their cruises, with hopes to capture more rare moments like this one.
