See Hammerhead Sharks Encircle Boaters Who Desperately Jump Out of the Water

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Written by Hannah Crawford

Updated: November 10, 2023

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smooth hammerhead shark
© Alessandro De Maddalena/Shutterstock.com

Coming face to face, or rather head to head, with a shark is no one’s idea of a fun time. Well, we guess we can’t say that. We do have some wild adventurers out there who would probably think standing in front of a shark would be their idea of a thrill. But, let’s take that dare, only let’s not have one, not two, not three, but six sharks! The stakes are now up; let’s see what this is all about:

This video takes us to ​​Orange Beach, Alabama.  A group of boaters have stopped along Robinson Island to catch a glimpse of a group of hammerhead sharks that have gathered. As the video continues, we see over ten boats that have stopped to watch the site of these enormous sharks just circling between all of the boats. 

As the video continues to pan, one of the bystanders must have gotten a drone up in the sky. Because we now have an aerial view of this interaction. The beautiful island waters allow us to see these hammerhead sharks. At one point, we are able to see up to six hammerheads that float between all of the boats. At the video’s end, we see all of the sharks have decided they are finished and just simply swim away together as a group.

What do Hammerhead Sharks Look Like?

hammerhead shark

Hammerheads can swim up to 20 miles per hour.

©Martin Prochazkacz/Shutterstock.com

As we can imagine, the distinct name of the hammerhead shark was not merely chosen at random. Hammerhead sharks have heads that are oblong and have a hammer-like appearance to them. It is a very distinct feature. A feature where we are easily able to distinguish them apart from other sharks because of this.

Hammerhead sharks weigh anywhere between 300-1,000 pounds and reach up to 0.9-6.1 meters (3-20 feet) in length. So, as we can see, coming across even one of these sharks would be intimidating, but add six of them, and it is enough to make even the most adventurous thrill seeker want to steer clear.  

Is it Normal for Hammerhead Sharks to Swim in Groups?

School of scalloped hammerhead sharks swimming over a sandy ocean floor, Darwin Island.

Scalloped hammerheads are active predators and gain several advantages from the shape of their heads.

©wildestanimal/Shutterstock.com

As we can see from the video below, there were multiple hammerheads together. Not only did they come together and swim together, but they also left together as a group. According to the Ocean Conservancy, “Hammerhead sharks like to hang out in groups, especially during the summer when huge numbers of them migrate to cooler waters.”

Scalloped hammerheads (Sphyrna lewini), especially the younger ones, are known to form very large schools during the morning, during the day, and even at times during the night, which have numbered in the hundreds, some up to 700 individuals. It is believed that this behavior is attributed to the ease with which they are able to hunt – larger groups can acquire prey better than smaller groups.


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About the Author

Hannah Crawford is a writer at A-Z Animals where she focuses on reptiles, mammals, and locations in Africa. Hannah has been researching and writing about animals and various countries for over eight years. She holds a Bachelors Degree in Communication\Performance Studies from Pensacola Christian College, which she earned in 2015. Hannah is a resident in Florida, and enjoys theatre, poetry, and growing her fish tank.

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