Incredible footage shows pod of killer whales circle blue shark off the coast ... trends now

Naturalists were on hand to capture the spectacular moment a fearsome blue shark beat got the shock of a lifetime as five killer whales bore down on it in the sea off California.

The predator beat a hasty retreat from the pod-of-five dubbed 'Louise's family' by scientists after they began stalking the waters off the coast of Monterey.

It came less than a month after a killer whale was seen killing and devouring a Great White Shark for the first time amid reports of increasingly aggressive behavior by the species towards humans and other animals.

And the 10-foot shark was left in no doubt about his place in the pecking order as the mighty whales wheeled round to size him up.

'They did not touch it or eat it,' the Monterey Bay Whale Watch reported excitedly, 'What a rare and lucky encounter today between two unique species!'

Scientists have been scratching their heads over the whales' new-found assertiveness after at least five boats were sunk in a series of attacks since 2020.

One British couple were subjected to a terrifying 90-minute onslaught by six of the creatures aboard their cruiser yacht off Gibraltar in May last year.

'We were sitting ducks,' Janet Morris said.

'A clearly larger matriarch was definitely around and was almost supervising,' her husband Stephen said.

'I kept reminding myself we had a 22-ton boat made of steel, but seeing three of them coming at once, quickly and at pace with their fins out of the water was daunting.'

Investigators concluded the assault was led by a whale dubbed 'White Gladis' who has coached other whales to attack boats after being traumatized in a 'critical moment of agony' when she collided with a vessel or was snared in fishing nets.

Just two days later another yacht was sunk nearby in an attack by a pod of one adult and two juveniles.