Seal and shark both go airborne in rare near-miss chase footage

US researchers have released spectacular footage of a seal and great white shark engaged in an aerial game of cat and mouse off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

The footage, uploaded yesterday to YouTube account of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, shows a seal leaping out of the water in a spectacular evasive manoeuvre, only to be pursued by a shark, which soars into the air after it, side-swiping its quarry.

The seal is then shown twisting its body and striking back at the shark with its tail, before plunging back into the water.

“Failed predation attempt off Monomoy, Cape Cod,” the video caption reads.

“White Shark 0: Seal 1,” the title concludes.

The seal is believed to have ultimately escaped unscathed, a conservancy spokesperson told the Boston Globe.