Horrifying video shows the moment a group of sharks snacked on a young dolphin in the ocean off the coast of San Diego, California over the weekend.
Footage captured the carnivorous animals taking chunks out of the dolphin 30 to 40 yards from the sand at Torrey Pines State Beach on Sunday.
The clip shared by officials showed the animals bobbing up and down in the water minutes before the nine-and-a-half-foot dolphin washed up on the beach.
‘The shark is the top predator of the ocean, and they will eat wounded animals and very young animals and they will attack them by surprise,’ oceanographer Manuel Lazcano told FOX 5 San Diego.
The most recent incident comes after a woman at a nearby beach was attacked and had a piece of her leg taken off by a shark in November.
Horrifying video shows the moment a group of sharks snacked on a young dolphin in the ocean off the coast of San Diego, California over the weekend
The clip shared by officials showed the animals bobbing up and down in the water minutes before the nine-and-a-half-foot dolphin washed up on the beach
The video shared Sunday showed the horrifying moment the dolphin was repeatedly pulled under by at least one shark as a small pool of red surrounds the animals.
‘Sharks were seen feeding on a dolphin at Torrey Pines State Beach today,’ the natural reserve wrote in a post.
‘The 9 ½ foot long dead dolphin washed up on the beach a few minutes later. Shark sightings have increased dramatically at Torrey Pines in recent years,’ it read.
The Torrey Pines Nature Reserve went on to share a link to a report indicating that shark sightings and attacks have increased dramatically.
The video quickly amassed dozens of comments from worried and upset residents. Others speculated on what had happened between the animals.
‘Just because they were feeding on it doesn’t mean they killed it. Sharks are amazing hunters BUT they also scavenge when the opportunity arises,’ one user wrote.
‘Maybe the dolphin was sick or dying and they spotted it? The pod would have never let this happen if it was well enough to swim and fight,’ another added.
Officials are now urging beachgoers to exercise caution as the latest incident indicates the water may be a healthy environment for sharks in the area.
Signs have since been posted at the beach, warning individuals of the shark-related danger. Some say it isn’t stopping them, however.
‘You always know they’re out there,’ surfer Jess Cauble told FOX 5.
The video shared Sunday showed the horrifying moment the dolphin was repeatedly pulled under by at least one shark as a small pool of red surrounds the animals
Shark sightings have increased dramatically at Torrey Pines in recent years,’ Torrey Pines Nature Reserve and State Beach officials wrote in a post on Sunday
Torrey Pines State Beach in San Diego, California
In November, a juvenile great white washed ashore at the same beach.
The eight-foot-shark had been wounded by fishing gear including a larger hook and leading wire, officials said at the time.
Local Ranger Dylan Hardenbrook said he found the shark with its mouth torn wide open from side-to side.
He guessed that the cable wire had hooked its mouth and that it most likely continued to turn its head in an effort to escape.
‘There were very traumatic injuries to the mouth and head area,’ Hardenbrook said.
In the same month, Lyn Jutronich, 50, was swimming when she was attacked by a shark at Del Mar Beach, just five miles away.
Jutronich said that she and her swimming partner were taking a rest in the water before heading back into shore when she felt something bumping into her leg.
The woman said she jumped right into action and took off after she realized what was happening.
‘I looked down and I saw the shark bite my thigh,’ said Jutronich.
‘Fortunately, it released. It shook maybe one time, that’s where I have the tears from, and then released.’
In the same month, Lyn Jutronich, 50, was swimming at Del Mar Beach when she was attacked by a shark at Del Mar Beach, just five miles away
A person at the beach caught the moment that Jutronich was seen getting help from lifeguards after being bitten
The shark that attacked Jutronich was seen in the water after the November 2022 incident
In 2022, CBS 8 reported that an increase of white shark sightings in San Diego.
Dr. Chris Lowe, Director of the Shark Lab at California State University Long Beach, told the outlet that the Southern California county is a hot spot for the animals and has become a ‘nursery site’ in recent years.
‘Starting about 2 years ago, we started seeing juvenile white sharks down in San Diego County, and now that’s one of our biggest hot spots,’ Lowe said.
The sharks range from four to nine feet before they are six years old.
‘There is a relatively low risk of people being injured by those juvenile white sharks that are using our popular beaches as their nursery,’ said Lowe.
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