An Australian fisherman made a surprising discovery when he looked inside the stomach of a small bull shark he had caught for bait.
He shared his find in a video on TikTok, which has been watched over 55,000 times and has left viewers as baffled as they are horrified.
Stock image of a bull shark. Bull sharks are opportunistic foragers and have been known to scavenge on all sorts of livestock.Stock image of a bull shark. Bull sharks are opportunistic foragers and have been known to scavenge on all sorts of livestock.FionaAyerst/Getty"That is a pig's trotter," he says as he rummages through the shark's entrails. "This bull shark has been eating pigs."
"It is not surprising to find offal in the stomachs of large sharks such as bull sharks," Daryl McPhee, a coastal ecologist and associate professor at Australia's Bond University, told Newsweek. "Bull sharks are scavengers and are known to eat various livestock when they find their way into waterways, typically after flooding.
"They have been known to scavenge on horses, sheep and cattle carcasses. In the current instance the shark has likely just scavenged on pig trotters thrown in the water.
"Bull sharks are opportunistic foragers and in addition to terrestrial animals they eat various fish species, stingrays, dolphins, and occasionally sea turtles, although tiger sharks are more important predators of the latter."
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Wild pigs are common pests across much of Australia, and are usually found close to the water. In the Northern Territory, where the video was taken, researchers at Charles Darwin University found that crocodiles have shifted their diet to exploit this abundant source of terrestrial meat.
In the TikTok post, the fisherman said that the bull shark likely came across the pigs' remains after a crocodile had torn it apart.
Stock image of a feral pig. These animals have become widespread pests throughout Australia.Stock image of a feral pig. These animals have become widespread pests throughout Australia.JMrocek/GettyMcPhee said the bull sharks are common in inshore waters across Australia, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions. They are also considered to be one of the most dangerous shark species to humans.
"Bull sharks are one of the three species most commonly involved in unprovoked shark bites on humans that result in serious injuries or fatalities," he said. "The other two species are the tiger and white shark. However, the risk to humans from sharks remains exceptionally low.
"To reduce the already low risk, swimming or surfing near river mouths after flood events should be avoided. Water users can also use individual electronic shark deterrents which have been shown in independent trials to statistically reduce the risk of a bite."
Small sharks are routinely used as bait for larger animals, as is seen in the video. However, many TikTok users were concerned about the ethics of killing a shark only to be used as bait for others.
"What a waste of a fish," one user commented. "Killed for sport and not for consumption. Not very sporty or humane."
The fisherman responded by saying: "Completely legal to harvest and was killed as humanely and quickly as possible...None of this shark will go to waste. This will help us capture, help out and record much larger sharks for local fisheries."
Newsweek contacted the owner of the account, NT shark wranglers, for comment.
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