Thursday, 4:30 PM
Great white shark sighted -- probably -- off Chatham
(Globe file photo)
A great white shark on the prowl
By Globe Staff
The animal that was spotted eating a seal last weekend off North Beach in Chatham was probably a great white shark, a state environmental official said today.
Lisa Capone, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, said a state shark expert had examined the seal’s carcass and interviewed witnesses and the case "has the look of great white shark predation."
She said that the sharks are lone animals that travel 30 to 50 miles a day and they have a slow metabolism so that they can go several weeks or even up to a couple of months between feedings.
"It’s likely far away, not going to eat again, and it was alone," she said.
A mammoth, bloodthirsty great white shark was featured in the movie "Jaws," which made millions think twice before going in the water. In 2004, a 1,700-pound great white shark made news when it was trapped in a lagoon on Naushon Island off of Falmouth for two weeks.
Tony LaCasse, a spokesman for the New England Aquarium, said great white sharks tend to stay offshore.
Large sharks are potential threats to people, he said, but "we're not part of their normal prey base. ... We're not on their menu." The last shark-related death in New England was in 1936.
Still, he said, "If you see sharks in the water, you need to tear out of the water and listen to local officials."
John Mandelman, an associate research scientist at the aquarium, said sightings of great white sharks are “very, very rare.”
He said the Chatham sighting didn’t necessarily mean there were more sharks on the prowl. But he said people should always be cautious, always swimming with a partner and avoiding swimming at night or dusk or dawn, times when sharks are more active.
“It’s sort of basic intution,” he said. “It behooves people to be aware of the fact that when they go swiimming, they’re entering a non-native environment and there are wild animals.”
