Amazing footage has revealed the moment a baby eagle ray bravely fought for survival against a 2-metre shark off a beach in Australia.
Nail-biting moment baby eagle ray fights for survival against much larger shark
Amazing footage has revealed the moment a baby eagle ray bravely fought for survival against a 2-metre shark off a beach in Australia.
The footage was filmed on Wilson Island, south of the Great Barrier Reef, on 16 April, and has since gone viral on Instagram.
In the clip, a hammerhead shark attempts to make a baby eagle ray its breakfast – but the tiny creature beaches itself to escape the dangerous predator.
The predator’s dorsal fin can be seen cutting through the ocean waves as it hunts down its prey before the infant eagle ray, flies out of the water – in an epic move to escape.
The fins on the side of the ray then act like arms, allowing it to do a butterfly stroke through the ocean.
Seconds later, the video pans to the defeated hammerhead shark, who is now too close to the shore and retreats.
The beached ray then returns out into the open sea, having bested the predator.
The terrifying moment was captured on camera by Aleksandr Jeldosev, 32, a photographer from Australia, while he was working on the island.
It has received over 29,000 views on Instagram so far.
“Great footage,” one person said.
“Just wow,” wrote someone else.
"Awesome.
I can't stop watching it," added a third person.
"Nice!
What an up-close moment," wrote another fan of the video.
“The never-ending astonishing beauty of nature and travel encouraged me to become a photographer,” Jeldosev said.
“I was completing my sunrise rounds around Wilson island, on the Great Barrier Reef, while performing island caretaker duties.
“I definitely had mixed emotions while filming.
"There was definitely the thrill of the attack and excitement for the shark, but at the same time rooting for the ray to escape as it was the baby eagle ray that I saw in the area every day while snorkelling." Jeldosev revealed his surprise at the event he saw.
He added: “We have seen the hammerhead shark come close to the shore multiple times before but never have witnessed an attack like this.
“The ray actually escaped and the shark disappeared out of our sight shortly after.
“We have seen the baby ray in the water later, so we know he/she survived the attack.”