(Fredericton) A tourist from Maine vacationing near the Bay of Fundy witnessed a rare scene that will stay with him for a lifetime, he says.
Posted at 11:09 am.
Hina Alam The Canadian Press
Paul Keller was sitting on the back porch of his rented home near Campobello Island, New Brunswick when he noticed some commotion in the water.
The priest then thought it was the splashing of a fish or the waves washing over a rock.
But as Mr. Keller looked closer at the scene through binoculars, he realized he was witnessing a rare scene: a shark feasting next to the carcass of a whale. The scene was both morbid and surreal, he says. The priest could see the whale’s intestines as the shark gorged itself. He filmed the scene, which took place about 7.5 meters from the shore.
“It was really strange, I had a strange feeling […]. Wow! It’s not something you see every day. At least not me. »
Chris Harvey-Clark, a Dalhousie University veterinarian who saw the video, identified the predator as a great white shark.
“The Fundy region is known for the presence of this species in the summer,” he mentions.
According to him, the shark must have eaten the remains of a minke whale, a humpback whale or a North Atlantic right whale. The carcass appeared too large to be that of a pilot whale.
“What do sharks love? They like to eat the blubber from a whale carcass, a food that gives them a lot of energy. What’s more, it’s a risk-free meal for them, a kind of floating all-you-can-eat buffet. It’s the perfect meal. No hunting, no danger to his eyes or other body parts while trying to catch the prey. We can eat everything we can. »
For Mr. Keller, “this sympathetic observation enabled him” to build bonds with other people.
“A young man, an aeronautical engineer, whom I met on the ferry told me that my video should go viral. I didn’t even know what he meant,” says the priest, laughing.
“If you can share an observation with others and it becomes an interaction: “Hey! Good, that!”. You know, good times are meant to be shared. I’m grateful for that. »