As beachgoers across the United States are hopping in the water to cool off from the summer heat, shark attacks remain an ever-present danger in waters in many parts of the country. Sometimes, they might even try to get aboard your boat.
Recent video out of Massachusetts documents a nerve-wracking, though ultimately entertaining encounter with a great white shark. The clip shows the apex predator circling a boat where men were fishing, at times peeking its head above the surface in a way that evoked the iconic movie Jaws.
The shark repeatedly popped its head out of the water to get a better look at the boat and just who and what was on it. At one point, it appeared as if it was going to take a chunk of the boat's hull. "Is he going to bite the boat, dude?" one person on board said, to which another replied, "He's going to eat the boat."
According to USA Today, the juvenile shark was chowing down on a whale carcass nearby and seemingly took a break for a light swim around their boat. When the boaters noticed what was happening, they were more amused than scared. "Dude, he's doing laps around our boat," one of the passengers remarked.
The coast of Massachusetts has seen an uptick in great white shark sightings in recent years due to the skyrocketing population of grey seals, which were once nearly eradicated from commercial fishing. In fact, Cape Cod is now believed to have the highest concentration of great white sharks in the world.
If you're planning to go for a swim this summer, make sure you know the risks and be prepared to stare down a shark at any given moment.
