UPY 2025

UPY  Behaviour - Highly Commended
'Giant feast'
Jake Wilton

A whale shark engulfs a mouthful of fish from a bait ball on the Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. The whale sharks are normally too slow to capture the fish themselves and must rely on other predators such as these tuna to slow and form the fish into the ball so they can strike. After observing the shark continuously follow the fish for a few hours I noticed it had decided to abandon the fish and change directions into the lagoon directly towards a second bait ball.
Sliding into the water with the new baitball I waited for the shark to approach and begin to circle the fish. Suddenly a school of tuna appeared out of nowhere and began to attack the fish from underneath pinning them to the surface allowing the shark to strike. A rare behaviour seldom witnessed by humans with only a handful of documented sightings recorded.

Judge's comment: While bonito herd the bait-ball, the biggest fish in the sea gorges. Jake’s shot has layer after layer, I like how this extraordinary spectacle is even being watched by a perfectly posed snorkeller.
Alex Mustard