Cape Cod is known for great white shark sightings as a colony of seals in the region makes for an enticing menu for the apex predator.
Some sightings are spectacular. Some are simply amazing because of the proximity of the sighting, such as the one on Labor Day near Race Point Beach in Provincetown.
The huge dorsal fin of a great white shark was spotted as it swam back and forth for about 10 minutes, and as close as 10 feet from shore, according to Tamzen Tortolani McKenzie, who captured video of the sighting. It was shared by MassLive on YouTube.
“The morning started calm, quiet and overcast,” McKenzie wrote on Facebook. “Often the seals hang by the shore, but today was different. The dogs and screaming kids couldn’t spook them off. A good friend Peter said, ‘They are not moving because there’s a shark out there.’”
Sure enough, an hour later a great white shark made its presence known to beach-goers, its dorsal fin rising above the water line.
In the video you can hear a girl’s voice shout, “Don’t go in the water!”
“Pretty amazing!” McKenzie wrote. “And no injuries! It was quite a sight to see!”
She thought the shark was up to 14-feet long and upwards of 4-feet wide. Whatever the measurements, it’s safe to say that the dorsal fin indicated it was huge, and there was good reason the seals were hiding out near shore.
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Apparently, great white shark sightings have been constant in the region.
MassLive reported that “the shark season on Cape Cod this summer has been a busy one, with great white sharks seen regularly off shore near Orleans, Plymouth, Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet and elsewhere.”
Stay out of the water, indeed.
Photos of seals along shoreline and the great white shark swimming close by courtesy of Tamzen Tortolani McKenzie.