ON THE HUNT
Jaw-dropping moment world’s toughest great white shark Brutus goes in for the kill in incredible underwater footage
JAWS-dropping footage shows the "world’s toughest" great white shark going in for the kill.
Twelve-foot maneater Brutus - who is covered in battle scars - bares his gums and rows of razor-like teeth in a terrifying glimpse of what it's like to be his prey.
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The incredible close-up pictures - and slo-mo video - were captured by London-born photographer Euan Rannachan.
The 1,500lbs predator is seen circling close to divers off Mexican island Guadalupe.
Scars and wounds on his head and body reveal his history of underwater scraps - and it's likely the other guy came off worse.
Euan said Brutus was not initially interested in the bait lines used to attract sharks.
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But he then made a terrifying lunge towards the camera after being taunted by a seal.
Euan said: “This shark's name is Brutus and as you can see he lives up to his name.
“At the time he had those fresh gashes on his face from what looked like dinner the night before.
“He had actually not seemed too interested in our bait lines and had made a couple of passes to investigate.
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“It was not until a seal from the shore showed up and started spinning circles around him.
“You could tell he became annoyed and decided to go for the bait soon after."
Seals are a favourite meal for great whites, which also feast on sea lions, dolphins and other sharks.
“The sharks come to that island for what I call ‘shark burritos’ - seals,” Euan added.
“Elephant seals and California sea lions cover the rocky shores.
“The deep shore falloff makes for a great place for a white shark to do their vertical attacks.”
Euan also runs cage diving trips to the island so people can get a close up view for themselves.
He said: “In doing this people see the real version, not what we are shown in Hollywood.
“The sharks are curious about what us humans are doing in a metal box floating in the water.
“But as soon as they see we are not food they couldn't care less if we were there or not.”
'Cannibal' attacks
Guadalupe island is also the best place to spot Deep Blue, a 20ft, 2.5ton female said to be the biggest great white in the world.
It comes after a researcher spotted a "zombie" shark still hunting for its prey despite being “half eaten".
Dr Mario Lebrato, 35, from Spain, captured the incredibly rare footage off the shore of Mozambique.
The oceanic black tip shark had been ripped apart in an attack by another shark.
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And in 2019, rare images showed the bloody aftermath of a vicious fight between two cannibal great white sharks.
The pictures supported previous theories that sharks eat their own kind as a food source.
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