Photographic evidence of the food chain captured in Madeira Beach
MADEIRA BEACH (FOX 13) - An osprey carrying its prey near Hubbard's Marina in Madeira Beach caught the eye of nature photographer Doc Jon last week.
In its talons, the bird of prey was carrying what appeared to be a very large fish. It's not an uncommon sight, but Jon was in for a surprise when he viewed his photos on a larger screen.
The osprey was actually carrying a shark - roughly a foot long.
The type of shark is unclear, but blacktip, bonnethead, and nurse sharks are somewhat common in the area, according to myfwc.com.
"It was very far away so I couldn't see it through my viewer but when I got home and zoomed in on the photo I saw the catch was a shark!" Jon told FOX 13 News.
This is the kind of picture photographers like Doc Jon live to capture - the predator of the sky versus the predator of the sea - but there was one more detail making this set of pictures unbelievable.
In the shark's mouth was a fish.
It's a real-time display of the food chain at work; prey eats prey eats prey.
"This is a one-in-a-trillion photograph," Jon said.
To see more of Doc Jon's work, visit his Facebook profile.