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Incredible drone footage of shark eating seal off US coast

A videographer on a family holiday captured the incredible moment a great white shark ripped a seal in half and made a meal out of it.

Chris Palermo watched the beast rip into its prey from the shore, before he used a drone to film the great white making the “second half” of its attack.

The former news photographer, who lives in New York, described the encounter as “the craziest thing” he had ever filmed in his decade in the business.

A videographer on a family holiday captured the moment a great white shark ripped a seal in half and made a meal out of it. Source: Chris Palermo / Instagram
A videographer on a family holiday captured the moment a great white shark ripped a seal in half and made a meal out of it. Source: Chris Palermo / Instagram

“I’ve filmed a lot of crazy and ugly instances over the years. It’s one of the most memorable things, for sure. Definitely top five,” he told the Boston Globe.

Palermo was with his family on Nauset Beach in Massachusetts ahead of the Fourth of July holiday when he spotted a commotion in the water, about 150 metres from the beach.

Then the ocean turned red.

Palermo quickly launched his drone and sent it over the water, just off Cape Cod, to find out what was going on. He initially only saw the half-eaten seal, but soon a huge great white became visible.

The drone footage shows the shark circling the half-eaten seal carcass before taking a huge bite of what remained. Source: Chris Palermo / Instagram
The drone footage shows the shark circling the half-eaten seal carcass before taking a huge bite of what remained. Source: Chris Palermo / Instagram

The video, which Palermo shared to Instagram on Friday, shows the shark circling the half-eaten seal carcass before thrashing it around in the ocean and taking a huge bite of what remained.

“My hands were definitely shaking. I couldn’t believe I was filming what I was at the time,” Palermo, 27, said.

Officials from the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy confirmed the predator was “indeed” a great white.

Watching such a brutal attack so close to shore didn’t put Palermo off returning to the beach the following day and taking a dip.

“You can see the seals, they pop their heads up all the time. As long as you stay closer to the shore than they are, I think you’ll be all right,” he said.

Chris Palermo’s other work is available at www.palermovisuals.com.