A wildlife cinematographer has shared remarkable footage of dozens of basking sharks off the coast of County Clare in Ireland.
“Capturing wildlife is very challenging so it is a great feeling when it all comes together,” says Jack Kelly, who spent the summer filming the huge sharks.
Kelly’s incredible video, which he posted on Instagram, shows the animals from both above and below the water, swimming, feeding and leaping dramatically into the air. "What a sight it is," he says in his post.
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“Basking sharks can get up to 7/8/9 metres,” says Kelly, who is also a marine biologist. “I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them reach 10 metres in length. The largest ever recorded basking shark was 12 metres.”
At several moments in the video, more than a dozen sharks can be seen swimming in a tight circle. “It is believed the basking sharks gather in such great numbers at this time of year to mate. This has never actually been observed but they do tend to show signs of sexual arousal in these circular gatherings known as a ‘torus’,” explains Kelly.
“It felt rewarding,” he adds, “I’ve been very fortunate to film wildlife all over the world, and basking sharks are becoming as iconic for Ireland as lions are for Africa. So, capturing this species of shark in particular has been a real honour.”
Video and image credit: Jack Kelly, @mr_jackelly
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