Oh, nothing to see here – just a great white shark snacking on birds. 


The peckish fish was filmed by Dorian Paidas with Shark Diving Xperts off Mexico's Guadalupe Island – and after checking in with the crew, we learned the shark was none other than "Luca", the same male whose tandem swim with another white shark recently piqued the interest of scientists. 

While gulls certainly don't make up the bulk of white sharks' diets, these events do happen from time to time.

"It's about everything coming together at the right (or wrong) time!" says team member Jimi Partington, who has spent numerous seasons in Guadalupe. 

According to Partington, this particular bird had been hanging around the hang-bait for some time. "Not a wise idea," he says. "The birds see the shark coming most of the time. The shark had already taken interest in this particular bird a few times before he hit hard enough to catch it."

Elsewhere, sharks have been known to feast on feathers, too. During a study off the coast of mainland Mexico, tiger shark stomachs were found to contain the remains of woodpeckers, tanagers and meadowlarks. It's thought the migrating songbirds sometimes land on the surface of the water after becoming disoriented by oil-rig lights. For the sharks, it's free bounty that's worth a bite.

Exactly why this gull didn't move in time remains a mystery, but what's interesting is that Luca didn't actually eat the bird buoy. It's possible that the shark mistook it for some other prey, or that the allure of bait simply triggered a hunting response.

"Once the shark took the bird, he then swam with it 50 yards before spitting it out," recalls Partington. "Sadly for the bird, it was not going to survive this."

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