The hunter becomes the hunted!

But these stunning pictures capture the incredible moment a sea lion turned the tables on the predators and feasted on a young thresher shark.

And it’s a more common occurrence than you might think.

However, the scene shocked those aboard a whale-watching tour off the coast of Newport Beach in California last week.

Slater Moore, a photographer who was aboard the boat, captured the amazing images and flew his drone over the water to get a better view.

‘It was absolutely insane,’ he told the Huffington Post. ‘Predator becoming prey, nature’s finest!’

Although he had seen sea lions gorging on sharks before, he was stunned to see five different sea lions attack small thresher sharks that day. 

‘Everyone on the boat was completely shocked,’ he added.

The Marine Mammal Center describes California sea lions as ‘opportunistic’ eaters. The pinnipeds feed on squid, octopus, herring, rockfish, mackerel and small sharks.

But they in turn, are preyed upon by killer whales and great white sharks. 

Meanwhile, thresher sharks eat schooling fish, including bluefish, mackerel and tuna, as well as cuttlefish and squid - but also crustaceans and seabirds. 

However, young thresher sharks are easier targets as they have not learned how to avoid predators.

Chris Lowe, director of the Shark Lab at California State University at Long Beach, explained that sea lions attacking smaller sharks is common in the area.

'It's pretty common here in California,' he told Hakai magazine. 'California sea lions will kill five-foot-long [1.5- meter] leopard sharks. 

'Over the course of one summer I watched one bull sea lion basically knock an entire aggregation of leopard sharks down to nothing.' 

He added to the Huffington Post: 'It's certainly a turning of the tables. People don't think of marine mammals eating sharks, but it's actually kind of common.'

Lowe explained thresher sharks receive no training from the mothers after birth, but things change when the sharks mature.

(dailymail.co.uk)