Aggressive behaviour of an adult male Cape fur seal (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) towards a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias)

Abstract

This is a report of a marine predator (the white shark) being threatened by a member of the species on which it preys (a male Cape fur seal). Although these events may be rarely observed or occur infrequently, they may have important implications for the predator and its prey.We suggest that shark mobbing by adult male Cape fur seals is adaptive for the reduction of risk of predation by sharks. Mobbing of sharks is likely to alert conspecifics to the presence of a predator, and/or reduce the shark's hunting motivation near the mobbing site.