Video of shark inches off Cape Cod beach proves they ‘show up in unexpected places’
Video of a shark flopping around in ankle-deep off a Cape Cod beach prompted shark experts to issue a disconcerting warning over the weekend.
“Please remember that white sharks can show up in unexpected places,” the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy posted on Facebook. “So please ... treat any unidentified fin with respect and caution.”
A video shared with the post shows a large shark so close to shore, it splashes water on the sand while struggling to get back into deeper water.
We've received a couple of shark sightings in Lewis Bay that the science team from MA DMF, MA Sharks and AWSC have...
Posted by Atlantic White Shark Conservancy on Sunday, July 5, 2020
It was recorded in the Lewis Bay area of southern Cape Cod, Massachusetts, which Capecodlife.com describes as a 1.6 square-mile “shallow bowl” of water.
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy says scientists got reports of “a couple of shark sightings” in the area, and have determined they were likely sandbar sharks rather than a great white sharks. Sandbar sharks are a smaller East Coast shark that averages 6 feet and “prefers the sandy bottoms of coastal areas,” the Florida Museum reports.
”Although it has been rarely associated with attacks on humans, its size makes it potentially dangerous,” the museum adds.
The eight-second video is credited to John Cline and shows the shark successfully made it back into deeper water. No swimmers are seen in the background.
Among the dozens of commenters were some people who nervously joked sharks are now capable of coming ashore.
“I missed a shark pretty much on shore in Lewis Bay,” Blair Browne posted on Facebook.
“Water looks less than 2’ (feet) deep!” Bob McCarthy wrote.
“There goes my up-to-your-knees rule! Ankle deep only!” Brenna St Pierre commented.
Tales of sharks frighteningly close to beaches have also been reported in the Carolinas, including in incident last year at Myrtle Beach, S.C., where someone on a hotel balcony photographed people standing in knee-deep water a few feet of sharks. The tourists appeared not to know of the sharks were near, the Myrtle Beach Sun News reported.
Cape Cod is a popular feeding ground for migrating great white sharks, which prey on seals. A fatal shark attack was reported off Cape Cod in 2018, involving 26-year-old Arthur Medici of Revere, Massachusetts, the National Park Service reported.
Experts suspect it was a great white shark, which can grow up to 20 feet, according to the New York Times.
Why I go to the beach to get in the pool! SHARKS!!!! Not one person had an idea of what was lurking around them. Can’t...
Posted by Ginger Gilmer on Friday, June 14, 2019
