Watch a Sea Lion Aggressively Take Down a Shark in the Monterey Bay

When we think of the marine wildlife below our waters, we view sharks as the kings or monsters of the water. However, even sharks have predators. While we might not necessarily have thought a sea lion would be one of them, nature never ceases to amaze us. Don’t miss the wild action in the video just below.

Click on the Video Below!

Sea Lion Sighting in Monterey Bay

The Facebook video at the top of this blog post takes us to Monterey Bay in California. This Monterey Bay is home to animals such as seals, sea lions, whales, sea otters, dolphins, and seabirds. The Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary is often called the “Serengeti of the Sea.” 

Sea Lion Attacking a Blue Shark

At the start of the video shown above, we see a sea lion has been hunting for food. And he has found a blue shark. The sea lion bites into the shark swimming by. He aggressively flips it up in the air and crashes it down into the ocean while pulling a chunk out of this shark’s body. It’s as if this sea lion is a professional wrestler and has entered the fighting ring with this shark.

The sea lion continues to eat this shark as he is clearly at a disadvantage, having been taken by surprise. And as he is gorging on this meal, a hungry seagull overhead appears. This bird has smelled freshly killed blood, and he wants a taste. 

How Big Are Blue Sharks?

Regardless of the size of this blue shark, it was impressive to see this sea lion take him down in one fell swoop. The blue shark (Prionace glauca) of the genus Prionace can weigh anywhere from 60 to 400 pounds. 

Where males typically weigh more than females in the wild; this is not true with blue sharks. Male blue sharks usually weigh between 60-120 pounds. Females will weigh between 200 and 400 pounds. Now, let’s turn to see how much sea lions weigh.

How Much Do Sea Lions Weigh?

Sea lions (Otariidae) can weigh anywhere from 110 to 2,400 pounds. This sea lion’s significant weight difference gave him an advantage over this blue shark.

As omnivores, sea lions eat a variety of smaller prey, such as herring, lampreys, salmon, and squid. They will also feed on marine plant life and seaweed. And, of course, as we can see from the video posted at the top, they eat blue sharks and are absolute beasts at taking them down.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © VisionDive/Shutterstock.com