What’s clawing up these great white sharks? Probably an unwilling entree, experts say

Teeth marks on great white sharks are often attributed to the predators biting each other, but far more mysterious are the scratches.

Photos shared last week by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy on Facebook show sharks found off Massachusetts are literally crisscrossed with linear gashes — some fresh, others healed.

So what’s leaving these scratches, given sharks don’t have claws?

It’s likely seals, doing their darnedest not to be eaten, the conservancy believes.

Sharks love plump, tasty seals, and unbeknownst to most people, these adorable puppy-eyed creatures have sharp claws.

“Our research team will record white sharks with some gnarly scars,” the conservancy wrote. “This particular shark has scarring from seals. ... Scarring does not typically change the way the shark can swim, but it shows how resilient they are!”

Two species of seal are common off Massachusetts: harbor seals and much larger gray seals. The latter grow to 10 feet and weigh up to 880 pounds, NOAA Fisheries reports.

“Gray seals have relatively short front flippers with five prominent claws. They can curl these flippers to tear food,” according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. The claws are 1 to 2 inches long, Seaworld.org reports.

The battered shark featured in the June 23 Facebook post also showed evidence of bites from other sharks, along with odd cuts possibly caused in a boat collision, the conservancy says.

Shark researchers believe male great white sharks bite females to hold them in place during mating. It’s suspected male sharks may attack other males, as a way to ward them away from a female. Cannibalism is also “not outside the realm of possibility” among great whites, according to National Geographic.

In 2019, the nonprofit shark research agency OCEARCH reported finding a 12-foot-9-inch great white shark with a large bite that stretched across its head, according to McClatchy News. “It was a very large animal that grabbed it, something significantly bigger than 12 feet,” the agency said.

Evidence of shark-on-shark bites has also been found among porbeagle sharks, according to the Sulikowski Shark and Fish Conservation Lab. Porbeagles grow to more than 6 feet in length and weigh on average 300 pounds, according to Oceana.org.