WATCH-Massive-Hammerhead-Shark-Group-Encountered-Divers

WATCH: Massive Hammerhead Shark Group Encountered by Divers

A couple of scuba divers find themselves in the middle of a massive hammerhead shark gathering in the Galapagos Islands.

In the one-minute-and-seventeen-second video, the lucky (or unlucky depending on how you feel about sharks) divers show an endless ocean with baitfish swimming around. Within 20-seconds, large shadows start to appear all over. Soon, what looks like hundreds of the large hammerhead sharks are swimming across the screen. 

Click HERE to watch the video.

There are seven different types of hammerhead sharks located around the world. The scalloped hammerhead is most commonly found in the Galapagos Islands, specifically Wolf and Darwin Island. 

The scalloped hammerhead shark is easily identifiable with the scalloped notches on the front of their heads. Further, they can grow up to nine feet and weigh over 200 pounds. 

According to Oceana, the large groupings are rare. The lack of large numbers make the sharks easy targets for fishing In addition, the scalloped hammerhead is on the endangered list due to overfishing for their fins. 

Although the video is a day old, the large schools of hammerheads are generally prevalent in January. This is when the Humboldt Current is the strongest

“Scientists are unsure why scalloped hammerheads form these occasional large groups while maintaining solitary lifestyles for much of the time in between, but they seem to be social animals for at least part of the year,” says Oceana on their website

Many people might be terrified of the large group of sharks. However, scalloped hammerheads are quite bashful and avoid humans. “In fact, they can be difficult for scientists to study because they are so shy,” says Oceana. 

Scuba Company Posts Similar Video at Wolf Island

In 2019, the scuba company, Padi, posted a similar video. The 19-second video shows hundreds of sharks off the coast of Wolf Island in the Galapagos.

While pretty, we rather not be hanging out with them. They’ve got enough friends as it is.