Hundreds of sharks caught up in feeding frenzy seen from plane off southern Australia

A mysterious area of churning ocean seen off South Australia proved to be a shark feeding frenzy on closer inspection.

Multiple photos of the vortex were posted on Instagram by Australian photographer and blogger Luke Stevens, who reports it happened 9 miles off the nation’s southern coast.

“Seen an amazing feeding frenzy south of Kangaroo Island today,” Stevens wrote Jan. 8 on Instagram. “Not 100% sure if they were all bronze whalers. There was definitely a few great whites on the edge. Absolutely love my job and the things you see.”

Great white sharks can top 19.5 feet, while smaller bronze whalers reach about 11 feet, experts say.

Stevens’ photos were taken safely from above, “while he was flying in a spotter plane en route over the island,” 9News.com reported. It was estimated hundreds of sharks were involved, the station said.

The photos show sharks off all sizes were circling a particular spot, stirring the water to foam. However, it was not easy to tell what they were chasing — or eating.

It is suspected they were feeding on southern bluefin tuna, a species known to congregate off South Australia from December through April, according to the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna. Southern bluefin get as big as 440 pounds and exceed 6 feet, the commission reports.

The photos have gotten thousands of comments and reactions on social media, many from people who said they intended to avoid Kangaroo Island. Others noted such grisly scenes happen all the time but are rarely witnessed.

“This is my worst nightmare in one photo,” Mia Xerri wrote.

“Would be amazing to come so close to such a crazy event,” Corey Tait posted.

This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Hundreds of sharks caught up in feeding frenzy seen from plane off southern Australia."