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New Jersey beachgoers who thought they'd spotted dolphin very close to shore got terrifying surprise when they went for closer look
New Jersey beachgoers thought they'd spotted a dolphin very close to shore - but were terrified to find out it was actually a six-foot shark.
Visitors at Cape May Point spotted the massive basking shark on Monday afternoon at approximately 3 pm - a very rare sighting for the area.
Beachgoers, including children who were swimming in the water, first noticed fins in the water, initially mistaking them for dolphins, which are common in the area.
However, upon closer inspection, witnesses realized they were observing a shark estimated to be about six feet long.
'I just saw a dolphin. Well, I thought it was a dolphin,' Riley Fernald, 12, told ABC7.
Visitors at Cape May Point spotted the massive basking shark on Monday afternoon at approximately 3 pm - a very rare sighting for the area
Beachgoers, including children who were swimming in the water, first noticed fins in the water, initially mistaking them for dolphins, which are common in the area
Many on the beach quickly exited the water after the sighting.
'We saw two fins pop up really close and we thought it was maybe two sharks, but when we got a closer look it was one long, six-foot shark,' said Maia Golub, another witness.
Cape May Point Beach Patrol Chief Ben Swan said that such occurrences typically happen once a summer, and lifeguards are trained to handle these situations.
'Sharks are always out here. We swim with sharks every day. Most of the time you just don't see them,' said Cape May Point Beach Patrol Chief Ben Swan.
'The guards are trained to look out for whatever may be in the water. Any sort of threats in the area. If there are sharks, our response is just to clear the water for the meantime,' Swan explained.
Cape May Point Beach Patrol Chief Ben Swan said that such occurrences typically happen once a summer, and lifeguards are trained to handle these situations
But this wasn't the first sighting of the season.
The Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center reported two sightings of basking sharks off the coast of Cape May in the past week.
Marine Biologist Carlee Dunn described these sightings as unusual, given that basking sharks typically inhabit deeper offshore waters.
'The past week we've had two different sightings of basking sharks, right off of Cape May,' Dunn explained. 'This is unusual because basking sharks tend to be pelagic species, so they spend more of their time in deeper water offshore.'
'Just take it as a really neat sighting. They're following their fish and it's a sign of a healthy ecosystem,' Dunn told the outlet. 'They're keeping everything else in check in our area.'
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