Strength in numbers is an actual thing.
It doesn’t take a superiorly intelligent creature to know that you should normally never mess with a Great White shark. Just the name of the sharp-toothed shark has an intimidation factor.
Great whites are carnivorous beasts and are viewed as one of the fiercest predators of the ocean, and they typically aren’t afraid to be opportunistic hunters. Their incomparable sense of smell gives them the ability to detect blood in the water from nautical miles away, and that fact alone has summoned a multitude of both very well done and sh*tty horror movies revolving around sharks.
And speaking of horror, usually for a group of seals, seeing a Great White would be a living nightmare. Sharks are known to snack on seals, and often view them as a hearty meal that is usually easy to chase down. However, that’s if the shark and the seal are one-on-one. The math changes a lot when the seals outnumber the shark.
In the video below, a shark was swimming close to the shore of South Africa attempting to track down a seal for dinner. That wasn’t a bad plan, until over 50 seals decided to say “not today” and stand up to the apex predator.
Footage from the encounter is remarkable, showing both aerial and underwater views of the seals banding together and taking on the Great White shark. The overwhelming amount of seals was simply too much for the big ol’ shark, and the herd of seals were successfully able to scare “Jaws” away from the shore.
This just goes to show you that the parable of the sticks is true. Separately, they are easy to break, but together, they’re almost invincible. Shoutout to the seals for keeping each other safe, and showing the shark who’s boss (at least for now).
The clip below was shared by USA Today on socials with the caption:
“This shark was not prepared for these seals to fight back. These seals banded together to protect the pod from Great White shark roaming too close to the shoreline.”
