A video from Cape Cod provides a rare glimpse of what causes some great white sharks to wash ashore on area beaches. Cape resident Kenvor Cothey captured the video over the weekend, showing a shark hunting a seal close to shore and nearly endangering itself in the process.
Scientist Greg Skomal with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries said the video supports what scientists think happens when sharks hunt in shallow waters.
“In some cases the seal is able to get away as in the case of this seal coming on to the beach” said Skomal. “It may survive, it may not survive, depending on the nature of its injuries. But as we can see it was bleeding profusely, and the shark because it attacked the seal in such shallow water was also jeopardized because it came very close to beaching itself.”
Skomal expects shark sightings in the area will decrease over the coming weeks as the animals migrate for the winter.
“Our data indicate that most of them are gone by mid-December,” said Skomal. “So it doesn’t surprise us that sharks are still around, and certainly with the seals available, but as soon as water temperatures drop dramatically, we’ll see that sharks depart.”
