Massive Great White Shark Spotted Off Rottnest Island In Australia
A dead whale spotted off the coast of Western Australia has drawn a number of sharks to the area and now video has emerged of another, massive great white investigating boaters off Rottnest Island.
While the carcass has since washed ashore, as the Inquisitr recently noted, boaters flocked to the area last week, observing the sharks as they fed. Several videos have already come to light, revealing a number of interactions with curious tiger sharks in addition to several notably large great whites.
In the most recent video, uploaded by Tina Taraborrelli, boaters are visited by an extremely large great white, with an estimated girth between 1 and 1.5 meters. As Shark Attack News notes, the shark’s robustness can almost certainly be attributed to the likelihood that it recently fed upon the deceased whale.
Though people in previous videos expressed a strong desire to immediately leave the area after encountering a white shark, the crew filming this particular encounter seemed to enjoy the great white’s presence. Fully in awe of the white shark, they recorded it as it slowly circled behind their vessel.
(Warning: Adult language)
The dead whale became the focus of international attention last week when 26-year-old Harrison Williams dived into the shark infested waters, swimming to the carcass and climbing atop it. Though he was fully aware that sharks were in the area, Williams decided they would pose little threat as they were preoccupied with the whale. He later admitted that his actions were not well considered.
The Science Behind Great White Shark Predation http://t.co/BESxePuz4q via @visually #Visually #infographic pic.twitter.com/V2QCT3z6qE
— Aaron Andrew Alford (@Explore_paleo) October 30, 2014
When the whale washed ashore Monday afternoon at Scarborough Beach in front of Observation City, the sharks followed it, prompting local authorities to close Scarborough, Brighton and South Trigg beaches. Several sharks were spotted from the air Tuesday, just off the coast near the carcass. Crew on the Westpac Lifesaver Helicopter reportedly sighted a three-meter-long white shark just 15 meters off the beach on Tuesday morning.
The great white shark can smell a seal colony from two miles away pic.twitter.com/AGIUhB0xUo
— Sharkingaround (@sharkingaround) October 31, 2014
As Perth Now reports, the carcass has forced the City of Stirling to request specialized equipment in order to transport it. The current diggers at work on the beach are unable to lift the whale, which weighs nearly 30 tons. Officials plan to relocate the carcass to a nearby landfill and bury it, lest it draw great white sharks closer to Stirling’s beaches.
[Image: Tina Taraborrelli via Shark Attack News]
