It takes a pretty big draw to attract a great white shark, but a dead whale certainly qualifies.
Marine researchers got an unusually clear look at a massive great white as it fed on a whale carcass off Rhode Island, as Newport Buzz detailed.
What happened?
The shark was seen near Coxes Ledge, a spot east-southeast of Block Island, the outlet reported. The Atlantic Shark Institute shared graphic footage of the scene to its Instagram account (@atlantic_shark), and credited it to Ian Shilosky.
The footage shows the animal feeding during a whale fall, which is a rare scavenging opportunity in the ocean.
"There are large great white sharks and then there are very large great white sharks," the Atlantic Shark Institute assessed. "Well, this is the latter."
Jon Dodd from the Institute and Sarah Callan of Mystic Aquarium searched about 50 square miles after receiving reports of a floating whale carcass, Newport Buzz said. When they located it, they found a huge great white actively feeding there.
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While Dodd and Callan found one great white feeding on the carcass, the institute said a second white shark was also circling the whale.
That stretch of water is also home to the Revolution Wind offshore wind farm.
Why does it matter?
A whale carcass can sustain many different species, including sharks, fish, seabirds, and organisms deeper below the surface. Great white sightings off Rhode Island are generally uncommon, researchers told Newport Buzz, but a dead whale can pull them in from far away.
Marine experts have long warned that whales face major human-driven threats, including ship strikes, fishing-gear entanglement, pollution, and climate-related changes to food supply and migration patterns.
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When a carcass appears near a busy coastline, it can temporarily draw large predators into areas frequented by boaters and coastal communities.
In many cases, shifts in animal behavior reflect mounting human pressure on the ocean.
What are people saying?
Commenters on Instagram were taken aback by the footage.
"Just from the head proportions you can tell that this is, indeed, a huge white shark," one wrote, before offering a second observation. "From what I've regularly seen from video of feeding events, they'll gorge themselves into catatonia!"
Many commenters wondered about the shark's size.
"At least 14 feet based on the size of the head and the size of the bite mark the shark left behind," the Institute said. "Really spectacular."
The other question commenters had was how the whale died and what species it was. The Institute said it was a humpback, but the cause of death was as yet unknown.
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