Celebrity Great White Shark Spotted In Long Island Sound

Just stopping by to say hello.

Alert: Hot shark in the city. Or near it—a 10-foot great white has been spotted in the Long Island Sound, an apparent first for this particular type of shark. Do not fear, though, because our big fella (Cabot, named for Italian explorer John Cabot) probably just wants to find some smaller prey on which to feed. He probably did not come here to eat YOU.

Indeed, researchers told CBS that Cabot may actually be a harbinger of environmental improvement, calling his arrival "something to celebrate."

"I know they've been working hard in the sound to clean it up and to get life to come back to the region," Chris Fischer, OCEARCH founding chairman and expedition leader, said. "When you have an apex predator like Cabot move in to the area, that's a sign there's a lot of life in the area and you've probably got things moving in the right direction."

OCEARCH has been tracking Cabot since tagging him off Nova Scotia last year. He seems to have swum up from North Carolina, where researchers counted him among a cluster of great whites last week, by way of Delaware Bay. Typically, you can track Cabot's movements online, but widespread interest in his whereabouts crashed the website.

Because Cabot hasn't tweeted anything about his current location or plans since his arrival yesterday morning, researchers don't currently know exactly where he's hanging out, but suspect he may have swum over to the south side of Long Island. Perhaps if you follow our recommendations and pay a visit to Long Beach, or Jones Beach, or even Fire Island this weekend, you might say hello.

Great whites can grow to between 4,000 and 7,000 lbs., and may measure between 16 and 20 feet from snout to tail. (Cabot, by contrast, measures nine feet and eight inches long, and weighs 533 lbs.) They enjoy snacking on seals, dolphins, halibut and other fish, but their standard diet does not include human flesh. Five people died from shark attacks in 2018, a year that saw 66 unprovoked attacks worldwide, reportedly a five-year low. According to the National Ocean Service, "Sharks have been known to attack humans when they are confused or curious," sometimes about bizarre people behavior such as splashing around in the water all seal-like.

We have contacted OCEARCH for news on Cabot's movements, and will update if we hear back. In the meantime, please feel free to treat Cabot like any other celebrity: If you see him, try to just be cool and don't cause a scene. He's (maybe? probably?) only trying to have a fun first beach weekend of the season, same as any of us.