Great white sharks have a reputation for being ferocious beasts in the water. Two kayakers in Massachusetts proved this for themselves as one attacked them off the shore of Plymouth Beach.
Ida Parker and Kirsten Orr were simply taking pictures of seals when a great white shark decided to drop in on their Wednesday night. The shark took a bite out of the kayak Orr was in, launching her backwards before heading for Parker.
Though a brief moment of panic enveloped them, the women were able to swim away and so did the shark. A bystander on the beach who saw them frantically swimming in the water screaming for help called the Plymouth harbormaster who promptly responded, pulling the women out of the water. They were unhurt.
"It came up from underneath my best friend's boat and it breached out of the water, grabbed onto the boat and flipped us both over," recounts Parker of the ordeal. "It was dark gray, pointy nose, big teeth, big eyes. It was like, right next to me. It was petrifying," she adds.
Orr's kayak was sent over to the Massachusetts Environmental Police to be examined, but officials believe it is a great white shark. "The Division of Marine Fisheries was able to determine that it was a great white shark due to a tooth fragment and the bite radius," explained Amy Mahler, Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs spokeswoman.
After the attack on the two women, officials also received a call reporting that a shark had grabbed a seal. Sharks like seals and that may have been what attracted a great white to the women.
Last week, a 12- to 15-foot shark was also spotted in nearby Duxbury, prompting swimmers to be ordered to steer clear of the water by the beach.
Great white sharks are increasing in number and that's a good thing after their population started to dwindle in recent decades. While this may sound like a cause for alarm for all beach-goers, sharks in general actually aren't as bad as people think they are. Blame Jaws for all their bad rep. It truly is scary to come face-to-face with a shark, but attacks are actually rare. In fact, people are 45,000 times likely to be killed in a car accident than by a shark attack.
Still, an individual's safety is paramount. If a shark is more than six feet long, automatically assume that it can harm people, whether it intends to or not. When a shark is spotted, take precautions to get out of the water safely.
