Fur Seals (Photo : REUTERS/PILAR OLIVARES)
Scientists are puzzled by the unusual behavior of fur seals attacking blue sharks in South Africa as divers spotted such bizarre behavior leading to the question if such phenomenon is normal.
According to Daily Mail, these kinds of seals are usually being hunted and killed by great white sharks so it is an unusual event that these seals hunt and kill sharks. However, it was noted in the report that the sharks that these seals hunt are much smaller than white sharks and the seals only eat their guts.
According to Dr. Neil Hammershclaf, a marine biologist at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, the seals only eat the guts of the sharks because these parts contain the most energy.
Marine biologists have questioned such behavior since fur seals usually just eat smaller fish and they do not attack other species of the same size as them. This phenomenon was first observed by diver and marine photographer Chris Fallows as he runs a dive boat operation in Cape Town.
Fallows pointed out that the behavior of the seals are serious implications that the blue sharks' number in the area might decrease and continue to decline as they are already being targeted in over fishing. Fallows added that these seals preying on sharks is far from their known diet since they used to prey only on small fishes and birds.
Fallows shared that such phenomenon is important because the seal's population continue to increase while the shark's population continue to decrease. He noted that the seals feeding on sharks and even rays might be a sign that normal food availability is limited in the area.
According to the African Journal of Marine Science, the most possible explanation as to why seals are eating smaller sharks is because they want to eliminate their competition since the fish species they normally eat is declining in number.
