‘Is it holding a SHARK?’: Startling footage shows a bird of prey swooping over a beach carrying a massive fish in its talons
- Footage from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, showed a giant bird carrying its prey
- There is debate over what type of bird it is and whether it was carrying a shark
- Some users argued the bird is an osprey, while others argued it was a condor
- Some said it was a dogfish. Others said it was a mackerel due to its tail shape
Onlookers on Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, were stunned by the site of a giant bird swooping over the sands and carrying away a large fish.
Footage shot by Tennessee native Ashley White from the 17th floor of an apartment building where she was staying on vacation shows the fish still wriggling around trying to escape on June 22.
The video was shared by Tracking Sharks on Twitter, where it sparked debate over what type of bird it is and whether or not it was carrying a shark.
Onlookers on Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, were stunned by the site of a giant bird swooping overhead carrying away a fish
Many users argued that the large bird is an osprey while others joked about it being a pterodactyl. Other social media users thought it might be a condor or an eagle.
One social media user said: ‘Definitely an Osprey – it takes a lot of power to lift up some of the large fish out of the water the way they do – amazing birds.’
There was also lots of debate over what type of fish the bird was carrying and whether or not it was a shark.
The footage was shared on social media where it sparked debate over what kind of bird it was and whether or not it was carrying a shark
Many social media users argued that the bird was an osprey and said the fish was likely to be a mackerel rather than a shark because of the shape of its tail
Some users questioned what type of shark it is with some saying it was a dogfish, a small species of shark. Others argued that it was a ladyfish, tuna or a bluefish.
Others said the fish is likely to be a mackerel rather than a shark because of the shape of its tail.
Chief meteorologist with local media outlet WPDE shared White’s footage to his Facebook page. He argued the bird was an osprey which had caught a ‘large Spanish mackerel’.
According to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, ospreys are known locally as fish hawks or fish eagles.