An enormous school of Northern anchovies made its way to the shores of La Jolla, Calif. on Tuesday, stopping passersby in their tracks. The nearby Scripps Insitution of Oceonography noted such a large-scale phenomenon hadn’t occurred in the area for more than 30 years. Many onlookers initially mistook the dense school for an oil spill.
Along with curious surfers and divers, the anchovies attracted leopoard sharks and tens of thousands of hungry birds to the scene. This video from the Scripps Institution shows just how far the anchovy shoal stretched along the coast. It also provides underwater footage of swimmers taking a closer look.