A shocking video has captured the dramatic moment a hammerhead shark attacks several stingrays in front of stunned beach-goers on Alabama’s Gulf Coast.
The incredible scenes were filmed by Rachael Kelnhofer, 28, in the resort city of Orange Beach, Alabama, US, in the morning of 15 August.
Rachael, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, later shared the video on Facebook, where it has since gone viral with nearly 400,000 views.
She was spending a one-week holiday in the coastal city with her husband Joe, 28, their one-year-old daughter Nora, her parents-in-law Rich and Suzanne, and her sister-in-law Marita when she filmed the shocking shark attack.
Eyewitnesses said the shark appeared to be a hammerhead, about 10-12 ft in length.
The animal was seen chasing and attacking a fever of stingrays in the shallow water, sending beach-goers scrambling for the shore.
“We’ve been coming down to Orange Beach for 10 years and we’ve never seen anything like this!,” Rachael told NeedToKnow.online.
“This was Nora’s first time to the beach.
“My in-laws have a condo right on the beach that they typically rent out, except for our yearly family week-long trip down to the Gulf.
“From the balcony, Joe thought he saw a dolphin in the sea, but then noticed everyone rushing to get out of the water and standing at the shore watching.
“He quickly realised it was a shark!
“I was down by the pool when he messaged me to say there was a shark in the water.
“Me, Marita and Suzanne ran down to the beach and I began recording immediately.
“The shark was heading west in the water and was chasing several stingrays. Some smaller ones were along the shoreline.”
In the footage, the shark can be seen thrashing in the water as it attacks at least two stingrays – one of which appears fairly large.
A man then spots something further along the shoreline, where Rachael spots one of the injured stingrays.
Rachael added: “A man on the beach mentioned that he believed it was a hammerhead shark, and we also thought it was a hammerhead after returning to the condo and doing a little research.
“We ran about a quarter of a mile down the beach watching it chase stingrays.
“There were several people swimming and paddle boarding down the beach.
“Luckily, everyone was able to make it to the shore safely and allow the shark to catch its morning breakfast in peace!”
“We initially only saw one hammerhead, but after we turned around to head back to the condo, we saw four smaller sharks, someone on the beach mentioned that they may have been young tiger sharks.”
