Watch: Great white shark circles tourist's boat and devours seal

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A family in Cape Cod managed to capture the amazing moment a 15-foot great white shark devoured a seal right in front of them - just 50ft off the shores of Cape Cod.

Holidaymaker Peter Mottur was with his family when he managed to capture the footage from his 35-foot yacht at 8.30am near Monomoy Island.

He told the Cape Cod Times: "There was a great white shark gnawing on a seal. We were right on top of it.

"The shark wasn't scared and circled the boat for a few minutes. And it just kept coming back and nibbling on the seal."

Mr Mottur said the shark spent about 10 minutes eating the seal carcass, adding: "It was pretty gory, unfortunately. There was just about half of a seal there. He took a couple big lunges at it, thrashing the seal around like a rag doll."

He said his family, wife Debbie Lipsett, mother Libby, and his two children Abigail, 11, and Charlie, nine, were reasonably scared: "My kids were excited but terrified at the same time. Nobody panicked but the adrenaline was certainly rushing."

State shark expert Greg Skomal confirmed it was a great white shark after viewing the video and photos.

Mr Mottur added: "It was spectacular to see something that beautiful.

"To see it in person, how ginormous it was, right next to me, was very overwhelming and very exhilarating."

Just last month, a man body boarding at Ballston Beach in Truro, Cape Cod, was attacked by a great white shark.

Beachgoers described seeing a "very large black dorsel fin" break the surface near the man, who then struggled to shore with bites on his legs.

Also back in July, an American man's first experience in a kayak turned out to be more dramatic than he expected when a great white shark appeared in the water right behind him.

Walter Szulc Jr was paddling his canoe just off Nauset Beach near Cape Cod, when swimmers spotted a shark's fin in the water.

The moment he looked behind him and saw the shark's fin was captured on camera by a bystander - and he then paddled quickly, and safely, to shore.

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