A shark which tried to eat another hooked on a fishing line has become a worldwide sensation even though experts say the image of the encounter shows a common experience for anglers.
Graphic designer Bryony Grover captured the image of the blue shark trying to eat a school shark while 14 kilometres off Tasman Bay, at the top of the South Island.
The image went viral online and has been picked up by media around the world. The United Kingdom's Daily Mail inaccurately called it a great white shark and said it showed "Charles Darwin's survival of the fittest - or perhaps biggest - theory in action".
The shark was identified by expert Clinton Duffy as a blue shark, of about average size and a common sight in coastal and ocean waters around New Zealand.
Ms Grover said she became aware of it after a few smaller school sharks - like the one pictured on the line - began mooching around the boat. Ms Grover, on holiday from Melbourne to her Nelson home, watched it cruising back and forth beneath the surface while out fishing with friends Dave and Kate Everton.
