How is a feeding frenzy beneficial?

[shoupart]

I was thinking about feeding frenzies and what benefit they might be to a shark.

Sharks seem fairly cautious when they hunt. I'm thinking of the great white's tactics of sneaking up from behind/below to take the prey by surprise, so there is little chance of the prey defending itself and maybe harming the shark.

I think that sort of predator behavior is pretty common around the world, and it makes sense from the hunter's point of view.

But what I'm wondering is: why does a shark go into a feeding frenzy around other sharks? I know it's triggered by the presence of blood/food in the water, but you hear reports of sharks accidentally biting each other, etc. So what's the benefit of going into a feeding frenzy? is it so a shark can eat as much as possible before a competitor does?

Anybody have any answers/theories?

 

[Theunis]

Shoupart, I think you have the correct answer: It is so a shark can eat as much as possible before a competitor does!!

Lions and other animals do the same.

 

[drdiver1952]

Yes, like all predators sharks are "feeders of opportunity" and eat as much as they can when they can.

 

[Tanked]

Kind of like humans. Ever been to an all you can eat buffet? Seriously though. Alot of preditors go a long time without a meal, so they fill up when they can.

 

[carcharodon15]

The presence of others sharks triggers an agreesive response to consume as much of the limited resource as possible

For information about sharks, visit

Shark Attacks - And How to Avoid Them

 

[smellzlikefish]

I have to admit I am suspicious of the whole feeding frenzy idea. Having worked with sharks for the past 7 years, I have yet to see a shark blindly attack anything. The closest I came was watching a pack of 20-40 5-8 foot sharks rip through a school of baitfish. Far from being mindless, however, they kept a layer of sharks below the bait ball, keeping it concentrated and at the surface, while others went in to make deliberate attacks on the bait. My face was in the water with a mask on, but I was wishing I had brought fins on board to jump in with them. They couldn't have cared less about my head or the boat. Even in Blue Water White Death, the duskies and oceanic whitetips at the whale carcasses never once attacked the film-makers. Sharks will bite each other quite frequently to show dominance and for breeding purposes. This idea that a shark loses its mind around food I think is an effect of the hangover from Jaws.

 

[DAVID ENGINE]

I have to admit I am suspicious of the whole feeding frenzy idea. Having worked with sharks for the past 7 years, I have yet to see a shark blindly attack anything. The closest I came was watching a pack of 20-40 5-8 foot sharks rip through a school of baitfish. Far from being mindless, however, they kept a layer of sharks below the bait ball, keeping it concentrated and at the surface, while others went in to make deliberate attacks on the bait. My face was in the water with a mask on, but I was wishing I had brought fins on board to jump in with them. They couldn't have cared less about my head or the boat. Even in Blue Water White Death, the duskies and oceanic whitetips at the whale carcasses never once attacked the film-makers. Sharks will bite each other quite frequently to show dominance and for breeding purposes. This idea that a shark loses its mind around food I think is an effect of the hangover from Jaws.

What he said!

"Feeding frenzies" are actually a bit of a myth. When it came to light in the first documentaries it was made to look like the sharks who would frenzy around the placed baits would behave the same in natural conditions.

The feeding frenzies you see on TV are almost entirely illicited by the use of an unnatural situation. These frenzies are very much based around competition but if you watch closely, the sharks definitely exhibit particular behaviours that certainly display the acceptance of a "pecking order."

Sharks are very aware of their place in a group, White sharks in particular and when attacking a whale carcass for example are actually very measured in their approach. Bigger sharks are big for a reason, they have successfully managed to survive, often through acceptance of a place in a group and not behaving in ways which could cause injury or death. Smaller sharks almost always give way to bigger individuals, even in a feeding situation, this goes directly against the concept of a frenzy.

 

[khacken]

I know of a divemaster that unfortunately became victim to a "feeding frenzy". This is definately NOT a natural "frezny", instead it took place at the Blue Hole in Belize when the boat was chumming the water. The crew was messing around with each other and DM accidently got pushed into the water and was bitten as soon as he hit the water. Luckily, he survived after a single bite.

Now, what I got from the story was that:
The sharks were NOT in a natural situation.
The sharks were trained to go after anything that went into the water once the chumming started.
Prior to the chumming I noticed the sharks wanted nothing to do with the divers and would stay at the limits of visibility.
When the DM hit the water, it was an honest mistake on the part of the shark to think he was just more food being thrown in.
The shark knew immediately the DM was not food.
Instead of the DM being completely eaten in a "feeding frenzy", the sharks scattered.

So, in this situation, the sharks weren't the danger, it was the idiot humans around doing their best to get their a$$ bitten.

 

[khacken]

PS> The same DM later had his tricept removed by an eel and had a couple of trips to the chamber.

 

[smellzlikefish]

There is another option. The sharks may have been warning the DM to stay away or wait his turn. Sharks will defend the hierarchy by "light" biting of competitors.