Thursday, 4:30 PM
Second seal death blamed on great white shark
By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff
State officials say they believe another seal has been eaten by a great white shark in the waters off Chatham.
Lisa Capone, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said that a state expert had examined the carcass of a seal that died off South Beach during the weekend and concluded it was “most probably” eaten by the shark.
Capone said people who go to the beach should “exercise common sense and be aware of their surroundings.”
Chatham harbormaster Stuart Smith said that someone reported a shark eating a seal off the beach at midday Sunday. Smith said the seal carcass was retrieved Monday morning and experts who examined it said it appeared to have been killed by a great white shark.
Smith said he didn’t think people should be overly concerned.
But he noted that sometimes people decide to go swimming with the large contingent of seals -- and he discouraged that.
"It's just not a wise thing to do," he said. "Don't swim with the seals and you'll be fine."
State officials said last week that a seal killed Aug. 4 off North Beach in Chatham was also killed by a great white shark.
