Watch the Harrowing Moment a Shark Attacked a Dolphin off the New Jersey Coast

Yesterday, Sean Donohue's video footage of a shark attacking a dolphin off the New Jersey Coast surfaced online. The video is not for the faint of heart, especially if you are a bit squeamish about seeing blood.

At the start of the YouTube video, Donahue zoomed in on the gory encounter between the fish and warm-blooded animal. A dolphin's tail can be seen flipping back and forth in the blood-drenched waters. In the comment section, Donahue told YouTubers that the event took place at Brant Beach in Long Beach Township, New Jersey.

Police Captain Kevin Mahon confirmed that the shark attack did in fact take place at Long Beach Township. Mahon mentioned more than one shark was spotted in the waters.

In the video's description on YouTube, Donahue wrote, "Shark attacks sick dolphin on Long Beach Island, New Jersey."

Sharks target sick dolphins because they are weak and vulnerable. Sharks pose less of a threat when a pod of about 12 dolphins are swimming together. When there are more dolphins in number, they are able to defend each other during a shark attack. As a defensive move, dolphins will use their snouts to ram into the attacking shark.

It is a common myth that whenever dolphins are around, there are never sharks. The truth is, if a beachgoer spots a pod of dolphins, it actually means a shark happens to be nearby. Because they are both carnivores, the two end up visiting the same spots to hunt for food.

Last year, shark expert Stephen Kajiura, from Florida Atlantic University, discussed the myth with Live Science. Kajiura disproved the myth and said, "If anything, it's the opposite. If you see dolphins, more often than not, there might be sharks in that same area."

Another common myth is that dolphins are the natural enemies of sharks. Scared by dolphins, sharks will do anything to avoid them unless they isolate a solitary one. In fact, dolphins and sharks are typically seen swimming side by side. As Kajiura pointed out, they are usually "minding their own business."

If they do feel threatened, dolphins are usually the ones antagonizing the sharks. Dolphins have been known to slam their entire bodies into a shark, leaving them battered and in retreat. Confrontations between shark and dolphins though are "more the exception than the norm," Kajiura said.