Did Katherine the Great White shark kill the 5 foot shark found off New Smyrna Beach?
It would not be nearing the annual college Spring Break season without a shark story and this year is no exception. Only this time it was the shark that was the victim of the attack, in a bit of a twist. That twist comes in the possibility of sharks on sharks crime.
Sharks usually sit atop the ocean’s food chain, but a half-eaten shark that washed up on a Florida shore suggests at least one was under attack from a larger fish.
According to Orlando television station WKMG, the shark, either a blacktip or a spinner, washed onto New Smyrna Beach on Saturday. A photo of the half-eaten shark was spread around social media after a lifeguard posted a phot on social media with the caption “Anyone up for a swim? LOL I guess there is something even bigger out there. #blacktip .” Other social media users also posted photos of the shark, estimated to be about 5 feet long before the big bite.
It’s unknown whether another shark is responsible for the death, but Beach Safety spokeswoman Tammy Morris told WKMG that whatever fish caused the death was definitely bigger than the 5-foot shark.
There is a possible suspect in this killing and it just might be a massive Great White shark. At a dozen Great White sharks have been patrolling the waters off the coast of Florida and one is equipped with her own GPS.
Katharine, a 14 foot Great White, who was named for Katharine Lee Bates, a Cape Cod native best known for her poem and song, “America the Beautiful.” She has her own hashtag after the finding of the other dead shark and it is trending on Twitter #whereiskatherine.
It was off the coast of Cape Cod that Kathrine was tagged back in 2013 and she has been followed by Oscearch. The marine study organization has a GPS on Kathrine and you can follow her movements by clicking here.
She can’t be the only suspect however, as there were at least half a dozen Great Whites seen off Florida’s east coast so far this year. It has become more common place over the past decade for Great White sharks to be seen off the Florida coast where they find plenty to eat including at least one 5-foot shark.
There could be more than one suspect as Florida is a known wintertime stomping grounds for Great Whites, with a group of divers seeing at least five 14-foot or larger earlier this month off Juno Beach. Two other great whites were spotted off Port Canaveral in late December.
We will keep you posted on if Kathrine was indeed the killer in this case.
