See that red arrow? It’s pointing to a seal, with the shark’s head visible at the bottom of the image, but more on that later.

Everyone’s seen that iconic Planet Earth shark breach footage, but getting a look at how they hunt beneath the surface remains tricky.

That’s only part of what makes the footage that accompanies a paper published in the Royal Society journal about great white sharks and their hunting habits so exciting, though.

More details from Business Insider:

[The report] has found that great white sharks swim through South African kelp forests to hunt Cape fur seals. This has surprised scientists, who previously believed these large predators stayed clear of these forests.

Some 28 hours of underwater footage track eight different sharks. It showed the sharks navigating through kelp channels.

When the sharks encountered Cape fur seals, their prey blew bubbles back at them to throw them off course.

According to the researchers this is the first video evidence of its kind showing the sharks’ unique behaviour. It was observed around a Cape fur seal colony on Geyser Rock, in the Dyer Island Marine Reserve, near Gansbaai, South Africa…

For this study, animal-attached cameras (also known as AVEDs) equipped with motion sensing data-loggers were used. Previous research was limited to surface-based observations and using wire or radio signals, called coarse telemetry positioning.

It had previously been thought that the kelp forests were a place of safety for seals seeking refuge from shark predation.

Here’s the footage

Yeah, that’s pretty damn cool.

Researchers believe that the abundance of kelp around Dyer Island may have forced the sharks to adapt and enter the forests. Maybe they even double as protection from those marauding orcas, who have taken a liking to shark liver.

If you’re after a serious nature fix, you should also check out David Attenborough’s Our Planet, which was released this past weekend.

[source:businsider]