Seals Off South African Coast Feast on Shark Innards

Fur seals off the South African coast have developed a taste for shark innards.

Photographer Chris Fallows caught on his camera an adult fur seal feasting on blue shark guts. According to Daily Mail, the seals have been spotted attacking blue sharks and killing them, surprising marine scientists. Fur seals and blue sharks are nearly as big as each other and rarely cross paths. Of late, the seals have been catching unsuspecting sharks and eating their guts leaving the rest of carcass to sink.

Both blue shark and the seals feed on smaller fish.

Fallows in 2012 captured a young male fur seal chase and attack five blue sharks and killing them to eat their guts. Seals are known to kill and eat small sharks but not sharks as large as the blue shark. Seals on the other hand are often preyed up on by great white or killer whales.

Scientists feel that seals turning on sharks may be more common than known. New Scientist quoted Hugues Benoit of the Canadian department of Fisheries and Oceans, New Brunswick saying that cape furs could be hunting the ocean's top predator to kill competition for smaller fish.

The seal behavior has also worried scientists, concerned about dwindling numbers of blue shark. If shark-eating is more common than known earlier, it could seriously affect blue shark numbers and offset ecological balance.