Bluefin Tuna Eat Bait Ball | National Geographic

A giant school of mackerel mass together for protection as they are picked off by tuna and dolphins.
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Bluefin Tuna Eat Bait Ball | National Geographic
• Bluefin Tuna Eat Bait ...
National Geographic
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[@satevo462]

Imagine if your best defense was to go to a metal concert and mosh in the crowd hoping something wouldn't pick you off and eat you.

[@sirhung]

These guys gather themselves up to feed other species. That's very nice of them.

[@Shinyboy29]

It’s supposed to be a defense mechanism to appear as a single giant organism But it’s not working

[@iPoisonIvy]

its cool how those birds can swim underwater and it looks like they are flying... under the water i like it

[@haydnrogan6789]

Makes me feel like a crab. Crawling along the bottom . . .

[@Gunshinzero]

Land sea and air. They got where they want

[@Char12403]

The mackerel gather to form whats known as a Buffet Ball

[@bkjeong4302]

Note to mackerels: balling never works when dealing with dolphins or tuna. They will just use that to their advantage.

[@PridefulShadow]

Which is why it's last resort. In the event there's no other option, it increases the chance that individuals can survive, because being alone means your chances of getting eaten are higher. If there are others around, there might be some hope of escape for the individual.

[@thedragonladyishere]

WOW. The birds swimming is awesome!

[@afthefragile]

Yes, Tuna fishes are pretty damn huge!

[@TheTaterbug3]

See nat geo filming pulls out fishing rod

[@AutumnCherry]

The quality of that show is absolutely fantastic.

[@tapupartforpres]

Can you imagine being on of the last fish in the bait ball? Oh shit, now what are we going to do, lol.

[@takaohashi6567]

They're afraid and clump together but it never works :(

[@freddurst1999]

I love the voice overs in all of these vids

[@Karina-er7mx]

Incredible team effort from those mackerels, such fighters even though they didn't survive, but they tried till the very end!

[@limsj6]

it is amazing how fishes are so coordinated to farm a ball

[@laneeardink9849]

It's simply the result of each fish trying to survive. For any individual fish in the bait-ball, this translates to: avoid the edges, avoid the top, avoid the bottom, and most importantly; DO NOT swim alone!

[@donham2540]

I didn’t know birds went THAT deep

[@Anofalye]

Interesting and spectaculor in it own ways. Thanks :)

[@TheOriginalKeithzone]

Awesome to see this in video form...

[@anzdf]

Excelente video, gracias.

[@UchihaSasuke253]

Holy Mackerel!

[@Flyborg]

Whoever thought that clumping together into a tiny delicous ball of seafood is sooo fired. (Fish can be fired from being fish, right?)

[@rimzrbig]

lol the seagulls were flapping there wings in water

[@macorine987]

Tuna look pretty cool.

[@hogansheros1]

Amazing footage! If it weren't NG I would say it is animated!!!

[@hugsandcigarettes]

It's like nature's way of handing out all you can eat buffets!

[@jakelencher817]

ive never seen a bird go so far under to get a mackerel

[@kaios8231]

While it's fun song for the other fishes...it's horror song for the poor mackerels.

[@Tripp393]

amazing!

[@dragenov]

wow that,s awesom

[@dmc9021]

this was very cool to see

[@itea2101]

สุดยอด

[@fokkerdude]

That gives new meaning to the term "Feeding Frenzy".

[@jakelencher817]

imagine that ball of bait on your hook, thats one big hook and a screaming reel, nonono... a flying rod and a broken reel, and maybe a broken rod too.

[@acolemann25]

the music makes it easier to watch the Mackeral DIE!

[@Zion91]

The ocean is amazing isn't it

[@Artificialkel]

Well said O.O

[@Pmoney059]

that so intense to watch!!!

[@redatpct]

sorry mackerel....the jig is up! they are on to you

[@jobw87]

Poor little guys. LOL!

[@dmc9021]

agreed

[@1ly]

this is why fish will never have nukes

[@305paintballfreak]

yup lol. Yull be catching tunas by the pound. But when the dolphins get htere time to go lol.

[@vampressrayne]

O_O pretty cool that they can make that ball.....not cool that they DID make the ball lol

[@marinojoe]

holy Hamburgers! I didnt know Tuna fish were that big!

[@hambone5547]

Spent a couple of minutes in a tuna vortex on my first dive ever. 1 in 500 dives per scuba master. I would go back.

[@xicimelody]

seabirds can dive? LOL

[@jl112894]

whoa birds actually go inside the water that deep for food?

[@mafia2tcm]

Now that's a lot of fish

[@bigkrisp]

baitball= free buffet ball...

[@anthonyi69]

Catch a mackerel catch a TUNA.

[@delkhairio]

omg! tuna is so big!

[@PerfectSusp3ct]

holy mackerel

[@NotiFawkes]

They see the mackerel bait ball as an oppor-TUNA-ty to eat.

[@TheSanityInspector]

Always a plus for a seabird.

[@Farreach]

i would figure the dolphins would figure it out but i didn't think tunas would

[@Brandi108CP]

WOAH!!!!!!

[@Rand0mAzn]

wow there wee a lot of seabrids

[@DudeItsMalcolm]

cool

[@12caredee21]

tunas is so good

[@westphillysoul]

that was huge...but I atleast thought the ball would do something...oh well.

[@SamiiGirl1]

LMAO i agree!! dude just all flee they cant catch u all!

[@B055C0E]

LMAO @ the birds

[@Jere616]

13 people were once part of a bait ball.

[@tophermalpractices]

that's a buy one get one free deal :P

[@afthefragile]

Plenty of fish in the sea... indeed!

[@vampressrayne]

yeah, they just dive and swim a little so they can leave the water

[@xxxXdragonXxxx]

weapon of mass distraction LOL!

[@MaxSafeheaD]

Fantastic events covered like a Disney film. The BBC "natures great events" coverage of this pwns.

[@bobbylow175]

Poor mackerel!

[@steveeeeboi]

mmm bluefin tuna

[@mebe]

so many new sights for me: a bait ball huge friggin tuna swimming birds

[@ccaptorchen]

holy macro! they are eating whole macheral

[@beepboop8973]

Poor thing, I can only imagine what covid has done to the sea..

[@Godiums]

Good things

[@peter13433]

aww poor fishys

[@edisonsun21c]

guys wait up!

[@camopaint0707]

reminds me of nemo, i wonder if they talk

[@Aipom777]

@Gilmoy heh wel said (:

[@Chris-hp9be]

If they all scatter in all directions at once, a lot of them will easily escape

[@imafishgod]

It's a tough one to swallow, but ain't it the truth.

[@raddestdoctor]

strength in numbers? fail in numbers

[@KerreyTheBitterSugar]

that's an impossibly massive bunch of fish

[@pieces333]

cool videos

[@TheOriginalKeithzone]

Tarantino begs to differ...

[@whoibuoy]

Guess the "bait ball" technique doesn't work so good, huh?

[@doraemonrox]

More than once.

[@vicparedes23]

I thought yellow fin tuna eats Jollibee chicken, KFC, macdonald's chicken and the like....😀

[@goodoldjam]

I was wondering why they do it. I kinda wonder if this is evolution in progess. All the mackerel that school like this get wiped out and the one's that don't tend to school are left. Or maybe this giant school works the majority of the time?

[@skullhart]

Poor Bait fish, soon they will be extinct because there are too many tuna, porpose and birds... Someone please do something! XD

[@fartass4465]

skullhart poor tuna! There are too many humans!!! Someone do something! Smh

[@Crystalangles]

its a involuntary action. they cant stop it even if they wanted to. sry for sounding harsh

[@chetpoete]

0:36 ...is it a dolphin far on the left ?

[@ar2022]

pooor little mackerel! but nom!

[@raguv2000]

has anyone ever opened up a large fish to see a smaller one inside... its creepy

[@STRIPERBAY408]

dam it sucks to be a mackeral...hah

[@thehantavirus]

Wow advertisements are annoying and they are loud

[@herp94]

i wanna see how a dolphin taste

[@jorge10928]

WTF UNDERWATER BIRDS!?!?!?!?!

[@blake1405]

Yeah, they get some amazing stuff, Mackerel are obviously very stupid fish haha

[@JayJay-wf2oe]

Big fish eat small fish. Then we eat big fish. Yummy

[@FeelFree3]

It is not a bait if they are just preys.

[@evolutionlancer7358]

damn nature, you scary.