Great White Shark Attacks Juvenile Seal in Harrowing Video
A whale watching tour sailing off the coast of Cape Cod saw more than they bargained for during a recent excursion when a great white shark chomped down on a juvenile seal in front of shocked onlookers.
The Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch based out of Provincetown, Massachusetts was on course in Stellwagen Bank during a 10 a.m. trip when they encountered the approximately 12-foot-long great white. In a May 20 Facebook post, the company explained that the entire predation event lasted about seven minutes from when the group first saw the shark break the surface of the water—which was believed to have been the initial strike—to the seal being fully consumed.
The accompanying graphic video footage, which is just 35 seconds long, initially captures the shark floating just under the surface of the water. Eventually the seal—or, more accurately, what was left of the seal—floats up to the top, before the shark reemerges and chomps the entire thing in one bite.
"While we have a healthy population of great whites and seals on Cape Cod, predation events like this are not often sighted," the post states. "This is the first time our crew has seen a predation in all of our collective years on the water!"
The company adds that it has since shared the video with shark researchers who confirmed that it was the first eyewitness confirmation of a white shark and predation this season.
An uptick of sharks have been spotted around Cape Cod in recent years due to a growing seal population that attracts them to the area—with August typically being the peak month. In 2022 there were 541 shark sightings in Cape Cod through August, up 167 percent from the 203 reported in 2021.
Related: Watch the Terrifying Moment a Tiger Shark Attacks a Kayak Fisherman
