Here's What A Shark Feeding Frenzy Looks Like

Even though sharks are supposed to be the noble apex predators of the sea, they can sometimes act more like a bunch of schoolchildren fighting over Halloween candy. A couple of tourists witnessed a shark feeding frenzy in North Carolina on the beach at Cape Lookout National Seashore. The group of hungry diners — hundreds of them — ferociously gobbled up schools of fish so close to the beach that the witnesses had to jump back lest he become part of the sharks' dinner. It's a sight to behold, and certainly one of the most rare animals to witness in large numbers.

Since they have very few predators above them in the food chain, sharks usually travel solo. So imagine the shock when two members of the One Harbor Church went out to fish for their own dinner and stumbled across more than 100 of the finned creatures. One of the tourists, Donnie Griggs, filmed the sharks as they risked getting beached while devouring schools of blue fish in the shallow waters. It was a mob scene, to say the least, with sharks bumping into one another, getting stuck in the sand, and going back for more to satiate their voracious appetites.

Since Griggs' friend Brian Recker posted the footage to YouTube on Monday, the video has received nearly 130,000 hits.

From afar, you can see all the black fins sticking out of the surf as seagulls and pelicans competed for bites as well.

The image of one fin sticking out of the surface is enough to send shivers down your spine...

...but imagine seeing dozens of them!

Could that group be fighting over the same school of fish?

At one point, the waves bring the sharks almost completely out of the water.

One of the witnesses is in awe at first...

... but jumps back when another wave threatens to bring the shark up close and personal.

One shark in particular gets a little stuck in the sand and struggles to get back in the water.

What to do in such a situation? Help the poor guy but risk becoming shark food?

Either way, this rare sighting gives new meaning to Shark Week.

Images: Brian Recker/YouTube