Shark attack: Great white attacks fellow shark

(Barcroft TV)

When Adam Malski, 33, first set out on a shark-diving expedition near the Neptune Islands, 50 miles at sea off the South Australian coast, he did not expect to witness an epic shark-on-shark duel. While riding on the back of the boat, he captured footage of a large great white shark attacking a significantly smaller white shark.

The footage, obtained by Barcroft TV, makes for compelling viewing.

Sydney-based Malski, who was on a two-day diving trip, spotted the large shark — given the name “Gilbert” — only hours before. He told the U.K. Mirror that the attack was “surreal.”

“I asked the dive master and skipper of the boat what would happen if a smaller shark got in the way of a larger shark,” Malksi said. “The skipper responded, ‘the big shark would take the smaller one down. Literally six seconds later, that amazing scene was witnessed by me, the skipper, and the dive master.”

Malski said the attack was something no one on the boat had ever seen before. Malski and his companions were watching the smaller 8.5 foot-long shark take the bait at the side of the boat. Almost as soon as the smaller animal took the bait, Gilbert, looking like it came straight out of a scene from “Jaws,” emerged from the water, sinking its teeth into the smaller shark, the Mirror reports.

Great whites are very elusive creatures. Some scientists estimate that massive sharks number less than 10,000 worldwide, and the secretive animals generally avoid fighting for food, according to sharkfacts.org.

Since these animals are so rare, Malski said the bizarre out-of-left-field attack was even more fascinating.

“I believe that it is extremely rare footage as great whites are elusive and still largely unknown creatures,” Malski told the Mirror.

While the event was gruesome to witness firsthand, Malski added that after observing 18 different sharks closely during the expedition, he found the animals to be “inquisitive” and “not aggressive,” in general.

“Even when one bumped my hand and camera when I was 20 meters (65.6 feet) underwater, there was no aggression – just inquisitiveness.”

At least during this expedition, Gilbert proved to be the exception to the rule. While the large shark has been spotted in the waters near the Neptune Islands since Malski’s footage was recorded, the smaller shark is nowhere to be seen.