Fears over monster Great White Shark prowling UK waters after half-eaten dolphins found washed-up on family beaches
A GREAT white shark is feared to be stalking UK waters, after the carcasses of two dolphins were washed up on a beach popular with holidaymakers.
The gruesome discoveries were made this weekend in Great Yarmouth on the Norfolk coast, near to where a half-eaten four foot-long seal was found last year.
It follows a number of similar discoveries in the area over recent years.
Local resident Stephen McHugh, 24, said "It's pretty frightening - it can't be a coincidence that something out there keeps attacking and eating seals, dolphins and porpoises.
"If it is a Great White, let's hope it doesn't come into the warmer shallow water close to the shore when people are on the beaches in the summer.
"Great Whites can live for decades so it could have been out there for years, and if it's found a mate, they could be starting a family. It doesn't bear thinking about.
"There are plenty of seals, porpoises, dolphins and even small whales in the North Sea for them to survive on."
The first dolphin was found dead on Saturday morning on Yarmouth's Pleasure beach, the second was discovered yesterday afternoon.
Gorleston coastguards had received reports on Friday that a pod of dolphins was spotted off the coast.
A predator like a great white would shadow a pod, hoping to pick off the weaker and smaller dolphins.
After viewing the photos John Richardson, Conservation Officer for The Shark Trust said he did not believe great white sharks were responsible for killing the dolphins.
He added: “While there is no reason why great whites should not be found in British waters (e.g. water temperature, prey availability - seals, large fish), to-date there is no concrete evidence to support their presence.”
Institute Of Zoology project manager Rob Deaville visited the site today and inspected the first dolphin to wash up which he described as a Risso’s dolphin.
He said: “I would speculate that the first was a live stranding given the condition when it came in and what and where it is. Hopefully the post-mortem will shed more light on it.”
Factfile: Sharks
- Great white sharks eat 11 tons of food a year while the average human eats closer to half a ton
- Sharks have been swimming in the ocean for more than 400 million years
- Whale sharks are the world’s biggest fish
- Sharks mature slowly and reach reproductive age anywhere from 12 to 15 years
- The film Jaws was based on a real incident in 1916, where four people were killed by a shark off the coast of New Jersey
- There are more than 465 different types of sharks in the world
- Great whites can detect one drop of blood in 25 gallons (100 litres) of water and can sense even tiny amounts of blood in the water up to three miles (5km) away
- Your odds of getting attacked and killed by a shark are 1 in 3,748,067. In a lifetime, you are more likely to die from fireworks or lightning
- Over 100million sharks are killed every year by humans
- Sharks predate the dinosaurs by 200million years
After seeing a photo of the second creature, he added: “The damage appears to me to be more consistent with scavenger action or possibly seal predation/scavenging and does not present pathology that I would conclude is consistent with shark predation and/or scavenging.”
If it DOES prove to be a great white - or even several of them - on the prowl, seaside traders will dread a collapse in takings if scared holidaymakers stay away in droves.
Great whites, which prey on dolphins, porpoises and seals, live for 70 years and don't start breeding till they're about fifteen.
A seal was found dead nearby in February 2017, with huge teeth marks gouged in its flesh where something had ripped into it.
In May 2016, a five feet-long half-eaten porpoise was found on a beach at Happisburg, Norfolk.
In 2011 three porpoises with Jaws bite marks in their flesh were also washed up along the coast.
And there was a series of mystery deaths of seals which had suffered ugly injuries off in 2010.
Great Yarmouth is one of a number of popular holiday seaside towns along the Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk coasts including Cromer, Cleethorpes and the luvvies paradise of Southwold.
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It comes as a fisherman was savaged by a shark while at sea on a British trawler on Sunday morning.
Max Berryman was working on board the Govenek of Ladram when he was bitten by a porbeagle shark he was helping heave back to the ocean.
And it follow research by scientists who have concluded that sharks have a passion for jazz.
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