Shark vs. Seal Spotted in Provincetown

It’s hard not to be fascinated by sharks—all that raw power lurking out there in the water, just waiting to rear its head, frighten, and amaze.

And then there are seals, those friendly little ocean-dogs. Have a lucky enough day at the beach down the Cape and you just might see a pack of the be-whiskered fellows checking you out from the surf.

One photographer in Provincetown this weekend had the subjects of a lifetime when he witnessed the meeting of the two, just off Race Point Beach.

Peter Flood caught the grizzly meeting on camera Sunday morning, as what appears to be a great white digs into a gray seal, its blood spilling out into the water in a widening pool as its buddies from a pod of seals look on.

Flood also took photos of the aftermath: seagulls feasting on the seal’s gnarled carcass.

It’s dark stuff, but such is life in the wild.

The photos don’t show the size of the shark, and it wasn’t immediately clear if it was, in fact, a mighty great white.

But the photographer caught the attack on camera one day after lifeguards shut down swimming at Race Point Beach, when a six-foot great white was spotted just 4 feet from shore.

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, which has been doling out incredible pictures and videos of sharks and shark encounters all summer long, posted the images on Facebook Sunday night.

For a taste of what these attacks look like underwater, check out this video, also via the Conservancy, that documents a shark attack researchers called “badass.”