Quick Take
- An oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico turned out to be the last place you'd expect a front-row seat to one of nature's most jaw-dropping spectacles. See the oil rig sighting →
- Sharks are often seen as solitary hunters, but this footage challenges everything you think you know about how they behave in groups. Understand shark group behavior →
- One worker's split-second decision to grab his phone captured something most marine biologists would wait a lifetime to witness. Meet the worker who filmed it →
Depending on where we work, there are all sorts of animals we might see. Perhaps if we worked in a retail store, we might see a bird that has flown inside and can’t get out. If we work in an office, perhaps we see some little insects crawling around on the carpet. Or if we’re a construction worker, we might even see a wild animal like a deer. However, this oil rig worker didn’t catch the sight of just one shark, but thousands! Check it out below.
Shark’s Sighting in the Gulf of Mexico
The next YouTube video posted at the bottom of this blog post takes us to the Gulf of Mexico, where we see thousands of sharks swimming together. This video was uploaded by the YouTube channel ABC7. This news station delivers breaking and local news in Southern California and in the greater Los Angeles area, according to their description. They offer a short summary of what happened in the video below.Â
“An oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico made for the perfect viewing spot to see a huge group of sharks in the water below.”
Giant Shiver of Sharks
A large school of gray reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos).
©iStock.com/Marco_Zucchini
This news casting starts off with sharing a video received from an oil rig that worked in the Gulf of Mexico. The newscaster states that “this made for the perfect viewing spot to see a huge group of sharks.”
The oil rig worker, Chaz Perry, spotted this enormous group of sharks traveling together in what’s called a shiver. He said that he was thankful to have his phone to be able to record such a moment as this while at work. As the video continues to go on, we see hundreds of sharks continue to swim by.
What is a Giant Shiver?
From all over the world, animals that are in groups together form names. They are sometimes called prides, herds, pods, or, in this case, for sharks, a giant shiver. A more definitive explanation comes from the American Oceans organization, which states the following.Â
“Shark shivers are a type of social behavior observed in some species of sharks. These groups are formed by family members or individuals with a close social bond.
The sharks in a shiver will swim close together, often touching each other, and will exhibit synchronized movements.”
Don’t wait another moment, check out this incredible giant shiver of sharks below.
