The circle of life doesn’t seem to apply to the sea, where normal predators can often become easy prey themselves.
A shocking video shows the moment a group of fishermen witness a 500lb grouper swallow up a three-ft shark that they were trying to catch off the coast of Everglades City, Florida, last week.
Captain Jimmy Wheeler was on the boat when a fisherman managed to snag the shark.
A group of fishermen witnessed a 500lb grouper swallow up a 3ft shark that they were trying to catch off the coast of Everglades City, Florida, last week
But he soon noticed the dark shadow making its way toward the shark and immediately knew what it was.
‘Watch this. You guys are going to freak out,’ Wheeler warned.
In the next moment, the large fish comes and consumes the shark.
The large beast and the fisherman battle it out for several minutes as he tries to reel the fish in.
Eventually, the grouper spits the shark out and moves on to bigger and better things.
The large beast and the fisherman battle it out for several minutes as he tries to reel the fish in
‘That same grouper later swallowed a stingray — or manta ray,’ wife Michelle told Fox News. ‘[Goliath groupers] have become a nuisance, according to a lot of fishermen. They’re eating everything.’
Declining populations of the large fish have garnered them protected status in Florida since 1990.
By law, the fish have to be returned to the ocean if they are caught and they must be unharmed.
After several long minutes, the grouper let the shark go and would later be seen eating a stingray
‘Large goliath groupers should be left in the water during release. The skeletal structure of large goliath groupers cannot adequately support their weight out of the water without some type of damage,’ the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) states on its website.
‘If a large goliath is brought onboard a vessel or out of the water, it is likely to sustain some form of internal injury and therefore be considered harvested.’
Goliath groupers are known to group up to eight feet and weigh up to 800lbs. They have large mouths and are known to have dark striped bodies.
‘We snorkel and see they’ll just go by a fish and suck it in. They’re huge. They didn’t get that way from not eating,’ Michelle stated.