A Crew Gets the Scare of Their Lives When Massive Sharks Attack Their Submarine

Explorers on a submarine at a depth of 2,461 feet had quite a shock when a group of massive sixgill sharks decided the sub was a threat to their feast. The Blue Planet II Team from the BBC nature show was observing animals feeding on a whale carcass when the sharks attacked their submarine.

It Was a Scary Moment on the Submarine When Aggressive Sixgill Sharks Attacked

A video posted on YouTube by BBC News shows the frightening encounter a submarine crew had when bluntnose sixgill sharks started bumping up against the submarine thousands of feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. The crew wanted to observe what happened to a dead sperm whale that had fallen to the sea floor. What they found were several approximately 20-foot-long blunt-nose sixgill sharks eating the carcass.

The sharks were all feeding on the whale, but with so many of them together, they began to grow aggressive. The crew even caught footage of the sharks beginning to bite one another.

One huge shark, looking very much like a prehistoric creature, starts eyeing the submarine. The shark was strong enough to push the submarine. As a crew member said, “The submarine is very strong, but they’re so big and strong that I’m a little bit afraid.” After a few pushes, the sharks decided the sub wasn’t in competition for their meal, and they went back to feeding on the whale carcass.

About Sixgill Sharks

Sixgill sharks are a primitive species of shark that is mostly unchanged from when it first evolved 200 million years ago. As their name implies, they have six gill slits, instead of the typical five gill slits of other shark species. Of the three species, the bluntnose is the largest and can reach up to 20 feet long and weigh up to 1,300 pounds. It’s a formidable size and is certainly large enough to frighten a submarine crew when it becomes aggressive.

Sixgill sharks live in oceans around the world and are usually seen at depths deeper than 300 feet. However, they have even been spotted as far as 6,000 feet below the surface. Though they prefer deeper waters, they will go where they need to to feed.

What Do Sixgill Sharks Eat?

Sixgill sharks are opportunistic feeders and will eat fresh prey and scavenge. They eat a variety of fish, but will also attack squid, crabs, and snails. They will eat from carcasses they can find of larger animals such as sea lions, whales, and seals.

How Aggressive Are Sixgill Sharks?

The sharks in the video were growing aggressive during the feeding frenzy, fighting with each other, and even attacking the submarine. However, they aren’t a typically aggressive species of shark and usually don’t pose much of a threat to humans. The International Shark Attack File has only recorded one bluntnose sixgill shark attack ever to occur on a human.

Sixgill sharks typically leave divers alone and won’t attack. However, they don’t like to be touched and have been known to snap at divers who touch or bump up against them. For the most part, these deep-water sharks are not swimming in the same waters that humans are in, so contact with them is relatively rare. They often stay in deep water during the day and migrate to more shallow waters at night to feed.

What Animals Feast on Dead Whales?

Sixgills sharks are not the only sea creatures to make a meal of a dead sperm whale. When a large whale dies, it feeds an entire host of animals from tiny bacteria to 20-foot-long sharks.

When a whale dies and sinks to the seabed, the scavengers come out. These can include sharks, crabs, and lobsters. Following their feeding frenzy are worms, crustaceans, and mollusks. The flesh from the whale is enough to last for years.

But even when the flesh is gone from the whale and only bones are left, ocean life still benefits. Anaerobic bacteria eat the decomposing skeleton. Even when there is seemingly nothing left but the bare bones, they then form a reef and provide a habitat for worms and filter feeders.

Since it’s hard to find a dead whale on the seafloor, researchers are eager to study what happens to a whale carcass when they can. Scientists will sink dead, beached whales that have been found to study what happens as the carcass decomposes. From this, they can learn more about how decay works in the ocean. Amazingly, a dead whale will provide sustenance in some form to the ocean for up to 50 years.