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A 15-foot Great White shark ominously circled a family's fishing boat off Cape Code, Massachusetts, this week, it's threatening fin rising above the surface of the water as it swam.
Cue Jaws theme music.
Fortunately, this massive predator was much more interested in mauling the seal carcass floating nearby than it was in the passengers of the boat.
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Hunter: The massive Great White shark circles the boat, just beneath the surface of the water
Ominous: The shark's fin rode just above the water as it approached its prey, a seal carcass
A vacationer from Rhode Island captured video of the impressive beast swimming just 50 feet off the tip of Monomoy Island.
As the shark approached Peter Mottur's 35-foot yacht, his son Charlie, 9, can be heard getting nervous.
'He's massive... Dad... He's under the boat,' Charlie says, alarmed.
'Shh,' his father assures him. 'Charlie, relax.'
Mr Mottur told the Cape Cod Times watching the shark devour its prey was awe-inspiring.
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'My kids were excited but terrified at the same time,' he said. 'Nobody panicked but the adrenaline was certainly rushing.'
Chomp! The shark bit off large chunks of the seal several times as it circled the fishing boat
The shark appeared to have been tagged by wildlife officials. Biologists have affixed several sharks with radio tags so that they can track their whereabouts.
Last week, Massachusetts state shark expert Greg Skomal and his team tagged a large shark in the Cape Cod area. Skomal suggested that might be the same shark.
The Great White seemed intent on his seal prey and spent about 10 minutes finishing off the remains.
Jaws: Walter Szulc Jr., left, is caught on camera the moment he looks back to discover the dorsal fin of a great white shark edging closer
While it is not unusual to spot great white sharks off the coast of Chatham Beach, this summer season a man was attacked by a great white off the cost of Truro Beach and last week 12-foot shark was seen off the coast of Sandy Neck Beach
'It was pretty gory, unfortunately,' Mr Mottur told the newspaper. 'There was just about half of a seal there. He took a couple big lunges at it, thrashing the seal around like a rag doll.'
FACTS ABOUT SHARKS IN THE U.S.
- There are 50 to 70 confirmed shark attacks around the world every year
- With five to 15 fatalities globally every year
- The U.S. averages around 16 shark attacks each year and around one shark attack fatality every two years
- The main population area of the great white shark is the coastal strip between Baja California and Hawaii
- Great white sharks are also drawn to the seal populations of the Cape Cod area
- The last human death from a shark attack in Massachusetts was in 1936
- In the last year there have been more than 35 sightings of great white sharks off Cape Cod
This summer season has seen higher than usual great white shark activity off the eastern seaboard of the United States and especially Cape Cod.
Just before the busy July 4th holiday advisory warnings were issued to swimmers after several large 16-feet, 2,000 pound sharks were spotted off the coast of Chatham in Cape Cod.
And in early July an amazing pictured surfaced of kayaker Walter Szulc Jr, who looked over his shoulder to see a 15-foot great white shark following him as he paddled
The great white shark was estimated at 12-14ft and was seen less than 100ft out in the water when it appeared behind Mr Szulc.
And at the end of July, Denver resident Christopher Myers was bitten on his legs July 30 while swimming off Ballston Beach in Truro.
That was the first confirmed attack by a great white shark on a human off Cape Cod since 1936 and panicked local residents.
The great white shark can grow to 20 feet in length and weigh up to 5,000 pounds.
They have rows of renewable razor sharp teeth, which make them a formidable predator.
It is thought that one of the main reasons the animal is drawn to the Cape Cod area is because nearby Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge has a huge population of the blubbery sea mammals.
The coast of America has one of the world's densest populations of the shark, after Dyer Island in South Africa.
References
- ^ Daily Mail Reporter (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Cape Cod Times (www.capecodonline.com)
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