Viral video captures bird of prey carrying huge shark-like fish at Myrtle Beach
Beachgoers in South Carolina experienced "Sharknado" in real life this week when a massive bird was caught on video flying through the air, carrying what many believed to be a shark in its talons.
The video, captured by Tennessee native Ashley White last week and shared on the Tracking Sharks Twitter account, shows the eagle-like bird flying over Myrtle Beach, carrying its impressive catch as it wiggles and attempts to escape. White tweeted that she took the video from the 17th floor of the building she was staying at.
Just in case you haven’t seen a bird flying around with a shark that it just plucked out of the ocean... pic.twitter.com/ILKqd9wrFG
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) July 2, 2020
The video has racked up tens of millions of views, and even The Asylum, the studio behind the movie "Sharknado," tweeted about it. "How many of you knew a Sharknado was coming next?" it wrote.
Ed Piotrowski, chief meteorologist at WPDE, shared White's footage on Facebook, joking that some people thought the duo was a condor and a great white shark. Tracking Sharks asked its community if it could identify the creatures, and Twitter users have been weighing in all week long.
Expert guesses poured in, identifying the bird of prey as an osprey and the fish as a ladyfish — not a shark. Others thought the fish might be an Atlantic Spanish Mackerel. All three creatures can be found in the region.