# Predation on a school of mackerel

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predation-on-a-school-of-mackerel/672548>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [October 29, 2013, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predation-on-a-school-of-mackerel/672548 "2013-10-29T13:02:28Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predation-on-a-school-of-mackerel/672548/1 "2013-10-29T13:02:28Z")

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Interesting [series of underwater photos](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/9831761/Dolphins-and-sharks-prey-on-a-school-of-mackerel-off-the-Azores.html) showing dolphin, sharks & birds attacking a large school of mackerel.

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**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predation-on-a-school-of-mackerel/672548/2 "2013-10-29T13:17:15Z")

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Amazing! Thanks for the link.

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**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predation-on-a-school-of-mackerel/672548/3 "2013-10-29T13:21:17Z")

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By pic 13 they’d managed to whittle the ball down a fair bit.

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**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predation-on-a-school-of-mackerel/672548/4 "2013-10-29T14:34:53Z")

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I wonder if the dolphins and sharks were hitting at the same time. I didn’t see both in the same pic.

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**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predation-on-a-school-of-mackerel/672548/5 "2013-10-29T19:00:06Z")

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That is some clear water… :eek:

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**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predation-on-a-school-of-mackerel/672548/6 "2013-10-29T20:21:46Z")

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One of the recent BBC nature documentary series - Planet Earth or one of its various children - had a sequence very similar to those photos that ended with a big ol’ whale lunging up from underneath and swallowing everything that was left in one huge gulp. It was pretty amazing.