SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A seal may have a whale watching tour to thank for its life.
A San Diego Whale Watchtour was two miles off the coast of La Jolla Friday morning when the boat was suddenly caught in a showdown between a mako shark and a harbor seal.
“Usually with shark sightings they’re so fast,” said photographer Domenic Biagini, “They’re on the surface for a second then they’re gone. So I remember turning to the captain and going 'can I get this' and she was like ‘yeah!”
Biagini fired up his drone to get video of the encounter which was several hundred yards away from the boat when the seal started making moves.
“So as I’m filming this I see the shark starting to pick up speed and I didn’t have the seal in my frame yet,” said Biagini.
The drone pilot says he was so focused on getting the shots he didn’t realize where the seal was heading.
“I very quickly looked up and saw that the seal was bee lining it for the boat,” added Biagini, “It was really cool for our passengers since it came right along our starboard side.”
Biagini says the 10-foot mako continued circling the boat appearing to have the impression the seal was hidden under the Hornblower.
Most people on board were so caught up with the shark that it took everyone a few moments to realize the seal had escaped.
“It was obviously injured, but we tried to really explain that this is nature at it's finest. This is a sign of a healthy ocean,” said Biagini, “When we see stuff like this, it means the food chain is working — sharks gotta eat too.”
