Growing up, there was an old wives’ tale. It was about how sharks feed at night, and therefore, once the sun set, we were ordered to cease surfing – lest we risk a nip.
It seemed plausible, since in a child’s brain, all scary things happen at night. But in my later years, like a lot of things enforced upon adolescents, I started to pick apart the claim. More likely, it was a myth made up by the mothers, to have the kids home for suppertime.
But perhaps, as some science suggests, the fable about sharks’ nocturnal hunting activity is valid. And new video evidence seems to support it.
The clip above comes from Carlos Gauna, aka The Malibu Artist. It shows, from a drone angle, a congregation of great white sharks in Southern California, appearing very active, swimming about in the shallow waters amongst their common prey stingrays, after the sun has gone down.
Per Gauna: “Here’s some extremely low light footage of a white shark aggregation past sunset. It’s incredible how different the environment becomes once the sun is set. Personally, and I think science suggests it also, I think white sharks are likely much more active at night. Someday, I’ll have the tech to capture it into the night. I really do think most of the cool stuff happens well into the night. It’s spooky season, so this post fits the mood right?”
Related: ‘She’s a Big One’: A Look Inside California’s Great White Shark’s Hotspot
Although he’s literally witnessing it, Gauna still seems speculative, perhaps hesitant, to make an affirmative claim about the sharks’ nocturnal hunting behavior. In fact, most scientists seem reticent. But maybe it’s not “nocturnal” per se…
Here’s marine biologist Dr. David Shiffman, offering a possible explanation for increased shark activity, not necessarily at night, but close to it:
“We did find lots of evidence that many species of sharks and rays are ‘crepuscular,’ which refers to animals that are more active at dawn and dusk than during the day or the middle of the night. The advantages of this are also clear—it doubles your available prey to include the animals that are out mostly at night and those that are out mostly during the day.”
Maybe mom was right.
Related: ‘Face the Shark!’: Kelly Slater Shares Surprising Survival Tip