Maybe wait a few minutes before going in the water. Photo: Carrie Drayton // YouTube
The appearance of a seal can be a welcome sight, but sometimes it’s also a sign of danger. Many a boater or surfer has seen a pinniped francitally hop on to their craft, only for it to turn out that it’s because there’s a predator lurking below the surface. That’s exactly what happened on a beach in Nantucket this week, although the predator in question was barely below the surface at all.
Carrie Drayton was driving with her boyfriend along Nantucket’s Great Point Beach at around 10:30 Sunday morning, when they noticed a seal suddenly rush out of the water. As they captured on video, the next thing they saw was a dark patch of blood, as a great white shark feasted on another seal in the shallow water.
Shortly after, the camera pans over to the other seal, watching from the shoreline. ““Stay out of the water, dude. You’re gonna get it,” warns Drayton.
Seals have often been seen hopping on to watercraft to escape ocean predators, such as when a wildlife photographer captured a pinniped hopping onto their boat to avoid a pod of orcas stalking below. However, witnessing an attack this close to shore is a much rarer circumstance.
“It was absolutely insane,” the lifelong Nantucketer told Boston.com. “It was truly wild. I could have reached out and touched it.”
