Dead seals with bite marks are reportedly washing up on Maine beaches after a woman was killed by a great white shark earlier this week, the first confirmed deadly shark attack in state history. Experts say the increase in shark sightings along the Maine coast is due in part to the area’s thriving seal population.
CBS affiliate WGME-TV reports that a family found a seal on the shore of Cundys Harbor with an 18-inch bite mark. Another dead seal was found at Phippsburg. Other residents told the station that they have seen more dead seals with similar bites this week.
“So it seems like there is some kind of totally psycho shark,” Sari Schorr told WGME. “The water is so warm here, unusually warm, which could be causing this migration closer to shore for the seals, and therefore for the sharks.”
A great white shark killed Julie Dimperio Holowach, 63, of New York City, the Maine Department of Marine Resources said Tuesday. The shark fatally bit Holowach off Bailey Island on Monday while swimming.
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Scientists were later able to identify the shark as a large target using a tooth fragment, state officials said. Great whites are not common in Maine, which is the extreme north of their range, but recent summers have brought reports of giant fish sightings.
On Wednesday, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute said, “The likely explanation for the recent increase in white shark sightings along the Maine coast is that both white sharks and their main prey (seals) are protected. and they have been for quite some time. “
The Maine Marine Patrol said a witness saw Holowach swimming off the shore of Bailey Island when she was bitten. Two kayakers helped her to shore and an ambulance provided more help, but she was pronounced dead at the scene, the marine patrol said.
Previously, there had only been one unprovoked shark attack in Maine, and it was 10 years ago off Eastport, said Maine Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher. He said the bite involved a different species of shark.
He described Monday’s attack as “highly unusual,” but added that it is cause for surveillance among bathers.
“The rarity of this event does not mean it will not happen again,” said Keliher.
The Marine Patrol has urged swimmers and boaters to exercise caution near Bailey Island and avoid swimming near fish or seals. Large sharks, such as great whites, prey on seals, which are common in Maine. Two coastal state parks, Popham and Reid, do not allow swimmers beyond waist-high water, state officials said.
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