In a rare occurrence, researchers documented an estimated 8-foot great white shark feeding on a humpback whale carcass off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island. The Atlantic Shark Institute stated this marks potentially the first time a white shark has been captured on camera in the state's waters.
The sighting occurred last week during an expedition led by Jon Dodd, Executive Director of the Atlantic Shark Institute, and Sarah Callan, Manager of the Animal Rescue Program at Mystic Aquarium. The team was tracking a drifting 40-foot humpback whale carcass after initial public videos showed a large great white shark feeding on it.
According to the Atlantic Shark Institute, the whale carcass was located several miles south-southeast of Block Island. It was there that Dodd captured underwater footage of the shark feeding on the remains.
"It was a great opportunity for Sarah to take samples from the whale for research, and as luck would have it, this great white was found feeding on it," the Institute shared on Facebook. They emphasized the rarity of such an event, noting that white shark sightings are infrequent except when whale carcasses appear.
Days after the initial videos surfaced, the whale carcass washed ashore at Crescent Beach, exhibiting numerous shark bites, signaling the end of the shark activity associated with the remains.