An adult female harbor seal (61 inches standard length; estimated weight 275 pounds) was attacked by a great white shark this morning. The seal was first seen drifting east at the end of Sand Point Road. Later, it was seen off Carpinteria. The specimen drifted in close enough to be recovered at Linden Avenue.
When first seen, some witnesses thought the seal was still alive, while others thought it was dead. When the animal was recovered, it was still bleeding. It also had good color in its gums and palate. Sometime after death, this area becomes pale from lack of oxygen to the tissues. From this, I estimate the time of the attack at soon after 0900.
Two bites were taken out of the animal’s pelvic area. The first bite shows the spacing between teeth of the upper jaw of the shark. The lower jaw wounds were gone, along with one of the hind flippers. The second bite was farther back and more to the side (second photo). The third shot clearly shows the serrations from the teeth on the bone of the seal. The last shot shows the classic jack-o-lantern bite pattern of the upper jaw of a great white shark.
I’ve conferred with Ralph Collier, who estimates the shark at ten to twelve feet in length. This is definitely a different shark from the one that attacked the sea lion a few days ago.
You can see the scoops the shark took out of the seal in this shot.
The overall length of the seal is nearly six feet.
2nd great white shark attack in 3 days with the classic jack-o-lantern bite pattern. Guadalupe. Sept 14, 2012
