Video: Massive Great White Shark Feeds on Dead Whale, Bumps Into Fishing Boat

Bill Pan
By Bill Pan
August 30, 2019Trending
share
Video: Massive Great White Shark Feeds on Dead Whale, Bumps Into Fishing Boat
A great white shark in a file photo. (Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

A great white shark was caught on camera nearly taking a chomp out of a fisherman’s boat sailing off Massachusetts coast.

Footage capturing this thrilling shark encounter was shared on social media Aug. 27 by Matty Riley, a US Coast Guard master captain and commercial fisherman from Hingham, Massachusetts.

“The most epic thing I’ve ever witnessed on the water,” Riley wrote on Instagram. “Great white sharks up to 20ft in length feeding on a dead whale in Cape Cod Bay.”

In the video, the shark with a torn dorsal fin can be seen swimming around the floating carcass of what appeared to be a humpback whale before heading for the boat.

“He’s coming right up to the boat!” someone on board yelled, as the shark bumped its nose on the side of the vessel.

The shark then returned to the carcass of the whale which had already been feasted upon. The fisherman, who suggested that there seemed to be numerous sharks in the area, also uploaded an image of a great white popping its head out of the sea beside its big meal.

The same great white shark was also recorded on the same day by another man named Paul Richardson, the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy tweeted.

“Look at the fin on it,” a man was heard saying in the clip. “The fin snapped off!”

“That one’s even bigger, holy smokes,” he said, indicating there was more than one sharks circling the dead whale.

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, a non-profit organization that collaborates with marine authorities to monitor shark activities off Massachusetts coast, says on its website the number of shark sightings has increased in the past decades, which suggests some level of population recovery.

According to the U.S. National Park Service, the resurgence of white shark numbers in the Cape area is due to a growing seal population, providing a steady food supply for the apex predators.

The agency also advises beachgoers to stay close to the shore, avoid areas where seals are present, avoid murky or low-visibility water, and always pay attention to beach flag warnings.

ntd newsletter icon
Sign up for NTD Daily
What you need to know, summarized in one email.
Stay informed with accurate news you can trust.
By registering for the newsletter, you agree to the Privacy Policy.
Comments