Posted on 06/18/2025 8:07:59 AM PDT by Red Badger
A Hammerhead Shark. Credit: FOX Weather via Jonathan Marlowe | The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel On May 18, 2025, a strange and surprising event unfolded at Splinter City Disc Golf Course in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, when a hammerhead shark suddenly fell from the sky during a routine game of disc golf. The incident left players in complete disbelief as they witnessed what seemed like a scene straight out of a bizarre film.
Jonathan Marlowe, who was playing at the time with friends, was at the 11th hole of the course when he looked up and noticed a bald eagle flying overhead. The eagle, known for hunting in coastal areas, appeared to be carrying something in its talons. Initially, Marlowe thought it was a simple fish, a common sight for such birds of prey. But his curiosity soon turned into shock when the bird released its catch, and the object plummeted to the ground with a loud thud.
The object that fell was not a fish, as Marlowe had first assumed, but a hammerhead shark. The shark, recognizable for its distinct hammer-shaped head, was about a meter long, and it crashed to the ground near the 11th hole. The unexpected scene stunned Marlowe and his friends.
“We kept asking ourselves, ‘Did that really just happen?’” Marlowe said in an interview with Garden & Gun. The players were taken aback by the sheer oddity of the moment, unable to comprehend the strange reality they had just witnessed.
The unexpected disc golf hazard was actually a bird’s lost lunch. Credit: FOX Weather via Jonathan Marlowe
The Unusual Chain of Events
According to The New York Post, the origins of the shark’s descent are tied to an interaction between the bald eagle and two crows. Known for engaging in mobbing behavior—where smaller birds harass larger predators—the crows likely pressured the eagle while it was flying with its prey. The eagle, in turn, dropped the shark, sending it crashing to the ground, leaving the disc golfers in a mix of awe and confusion.
The eagle likely took the shark from the ocean about 800 meters away, which made the sight even more surreal. While hammerhead sharks are common in the Atlantic coast waters off South Carolina and Georgia, it is rare to encounter one in such an unusual manner, especially falling from the sky during a game of disc golf. Hammerheads, including the great hammerhead and the scalloped hammerhead, inhabit these waters, often near the shorelines of the southeastern United States.
Despite the rarity of such an encounter, the region is known for its rich marine life, with several species of sharks, including hammerheads, commonly spotted in the area. However, the unusual nature of the shark falling from the sky has made this event a particularly memorable moment for the players, who could not have predicted such an interruption during their casual game.
A disc golfer holds up a baby hammerhead shark dropped from the sky onto the course in South Carolina. Credit: FOX Weather via Jonathan Marlowe
Reactions and Aftermath
In the wake of the incident, Marlowe and his friends were left stunned by the unexpected nature of the event. “It felt like something out of a movie,” Marlowe explained. The shark was left on the ground where it landed, in the hopes that the eagle might return to retrieve its unusual catch.
Although it seemed like a bizarre and improbable occurrence, the players were grateful for the unexpected story they could tell. The moment was captured on photos that soon went viral, turning the strange event into a topic of conversation far beyond the local disc golf community.
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The GIF below shows little scale reference, but I have to say it was not only the largest red-tail hawk I have ever seen (likely a female) it was one of the most dramatically and beautifully marked. Its size gave it nearly an eagle-like look when it had its wings fully extended as shown below.
And it wasn't a little bunny she was carrying away-it was a fully grown, large rabbit.
I pulled my phone and walked slowly towards it. I have been around enough birds to know that when they have real food in their talons, they will not give it to either attack you or to fly away. They will stand their ground with their catch, staring you down as you approach.
If you get too close, they will not attack you, but will instead try to fly away with their prey to eat it somewhere else. (They only go after prey they think they can subdue and fly away with, so this tendency raptors have to fly away with their prey before attacking you as you approach is no surprise)
Even knowing this, I approached slowly and with caution, even then not getting too close, but close enough to get a great video with the phone.
When it deemed I was close enough...it picked up the rabbit and flew into the air away from me. It labored to get it off the ground, like a heavily loaded transport plane.
As she flies away, it might be hard to see-her left talon was firmly grabbing the head of the rabbit, likely one of them going into the eye socket to get a firm grip.
The right talon however, had a much more tenuous grip, and she was in danger of dropping her prey. But she deftly repositioned her grip to stabilize her burden, and was able at the end to fly up and away.
That was an expert hunter there.
My theory is some large bird fished it out of the ocean, got it in its talons, was flying home to feed its chicks, and had to drop it because it bit it or it wriggled loose!
A hammerhead shark walks into a bar. Orders a screwdriver.
LOL, I went on vacation to the Outer Banks with a few families some years back, and one of the young teenage girls talked about “Sharknado” so incessantly that her father had to intercede a few times to get her to stop!
I watched a piece of it, and it seemed like a movie that a teenager or kid would get fixated on!
What, no laser?
The NY Post story about this from a few days ago said that the shark was dropped by an osprey. Also, if that shark is a meter long, then the guy holding it is really, really tall.
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Shark falls out of sky on unsuspecting disc golfers in South Carolina
06/14/2025 6:14:48 AM PDT · by V_TWIN · 60 replies
nypost.com ^ | June 14, 2025 | Julian Atienza
Oh, it’s a Toddler Shark.
Well, even a Shark-ette is still going to be known as “A SHARK”!!
A Harris Hawk dropped a rabbit on the carport roof one time. I’m not sure if it was a peace offering or a dire warning.
Would someone get me some sharks with frickin laser beams? Seriously people what do I pay you for? Lol.
We see Red Tails and Ospreys and the occasional Bald Eagle around here fetch Mullets out of the bay..............
As long as it wasn’t a horse head you’re Okay.............
If you lived near lake Michigan a sturgeon or salmon could fall on the golf course from a bald eagle who lost his grip. Often another bird is harassing it. Bald eagles are on many coast lines in the US. And they would certainly go after a fish that size. Also, could be an osprey or turkey vulture as well.
It is true that Red Tails are VERY versatile hunters.
I wondered if the shark wiggled around and got its jaws on some part of the bird (whatever it was) and the bird just dropped it as a survival mechanism.
They wanted “Sharknado,” but God had other ideas. Quite the prophetic picture!
Signs and Wonders.
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