Shark Kills Seal in Front of Beach-Goers

Alarmed beach-goers watched a nature documentary play out in front of their eyes on Cape Cod this week when a shark bit into a seal and spit it onto Nauset Light Beach, the Boston Globe reports. The attack, which one lifeguard described as "an explosion of blood and water," created a pool of blood just off the beach, according to WCVB. The seal didn't survive. "It was pretty gruesome," says one young swimmer, who wasn't sure he'd be getting back in the water anytime soon. Both Nauset Light and Coast Guard Beach, which is a mile down the coast, closed early after the sighting on Wednesday but have since reopened.

While there has been disagreement over whether the shark was a great white, one of the state's leading shark experts tells MyFoxBoston he could pretty much guarantee it was. Massachusetts is on track for a record-breaking year of shark sightings, he adds. According to WCVB, nearly 70 great white sharks were known to be swimming off the state's coast in 2014. Swimmers are being advised to stay in shallow water, avoid swimming at dawn or dusk, keep in large groups, and stay way from tasty seals. (More sharks stories.)