The life of a bait fish is a precarious one, as videos shared by a wildlife photographer show in vivid detail.<\/p>\n
In the footage, filmed in Mexico, pelicans and\u00a0sea lions<\/a>\u00a0jostle one other, each trying to take a bite from the panicked\u00a0bait ball.<\/a><\/p>\n “Pelicans diving from above whilst sea lions hunt from below, trapping sardines in chaotic bait balls,\u201d says safari specialist and wildlife photographer\u00a0Lotte Varndell-van Rooij<\/a>, who shared the footage on\u00a0Instagram<\/a>. <\/p>\n Usually based in Malawi, Varndell-van Rooij travelled to Baja California, Mexico, to witness this epic spectacle.\u00a0<\/p>\n Incredible footage shows pelicans and sea lions attacking the bait ball. Credit: Lotte Varndell-van Rooij <\/p>\n In the melee, it\u2019s hard to tell exactly how many birds are launching their enormous bills into the water while sea lions swoop in from below. <\/p>\n \u201cWitnessing this feeding frenzy was unreal,\u201d says Varndell-van Rooij, who also hosts conservation-diving trips through\u00a0Crafted Diving<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pelicans have enormous throat pouches, which they use to catch fish before swallowing them. Credit: Lotte Varndell-van Rooij<\/p>\n The famous rhyme about these strange-looking birds \u2013 ‘a wonderful bird is the pelican. His beak can hold more than his belly can’ \u2013 is absolutely true. The capacity of a pelican\u2019s huge bill is\u00a0two or three times<\/a>\u00a0more than that of its stomach.\u00a0<\/p>\n After watching the pelicans and sea lions \u201csandwiching\u201d the bait ball to pick off prey, Varndell-van Rooij was stunned when a massive humpback whale surged up from the depths and swallowed a huge mouthful of the fish.\u00a0<\/p>\n Varndell-van Rooij witnessed the epic spectacle in Baja California, Mexico. Credit: Lotte Varndell-van Rooij<\/p>\n Image and video credit: Malawi-based wildlife photographer and safari specialist Lotte Varndell-van Rooij (@africalotte<\/a>)<\/p>\n More amazing wildlife stories from around the world<\/p>\n