As many as six great white sharks were seen feasting on a whale carcass Friday off Cape Cod, leading to the closure of some beaches.
Advertisement
That same whale carcass washed up along a beach, so now that the sharks are looking for another food source.
The following beach have been closed to swimming: Noon’s Landing, Beach Point and Cold Storage.
The centre has advised people to report any sightings of whales and sharks in the area.
For the past three days, CCS researchers have been monitoring the carcass of a small minke whale in Cape Cod Bay off North Truro. At the time, the carcass was found in “good condition” with no outward signs of its cause of death, according to the center.
Researchers studying the carcass of a whale off the coast of the Cape captured video of another creature of the deep – a hungry white shark enjoying an easy meal.
But when they went back the next day, they found little more than a spinal column and skull remained.
Scott Landry, the director of the center’s marine animal entanglement response team, said in a statement that although they primarily study the activities of living whales, it’s important to respond to these types of reports. While the shark’s behavior in Jaws was greatly exaggerated, it is still a predator that is unsafe to swimmers if they are mistaken for a seal, which is their food source in the waters of Cape Cod.
Advertisement
“Had we not had the opportunity to closely examine this whale over the last 48 hours and witness firsthand the rapid deterioration of the carcass, we might have assumed that these reports represented separate individuals”, he said.
