‘'Jaws'-esque' video of Block Island shark sighting lures millions of views on social media
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And the short clip showing a basking shark in the island's Great Salt Pond has quickly gone viral since the organization shared it on
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Video embedded with permission from the Atlantic Shark Institute.
'It's kind of 'Jaws'-esque,' he told the Globe, drawing a comparison to a
But that wasn't the case on Monday.
'In reality, it's a basking shark, which is a filter-feeding shark, so it's harmless to humans,' Dodd said. 'But that didn't prevent people from getting real excited and really anxious and all 'Jaws'-esque.'
'There's been thousands of comments, and of course they've all been the same thing: 'We're going to need a bigger boat,'' he added.
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Indeed, Instagram users took glee in drawing comparisons between the movie and the striking sight captured on Block Island.
'It was a bunch of high school kids swimming with card board fins trying to scare off tourists,' one user quipped in the comments.
Another, borrowing a few words from the movie's stubborn mayor, wrote: 'The beaches will be open for the 4th of July!'
'Where's the Ki[n]tner boy?' quipped a third, referencing one of the movie's young victims.
According to Dodd, sharks typically migrate around Block Island, but apparently this particular shark decided to enter the pond, which connects out to the Block Island Sound on the island's western shore.
Dodd said the shark was only in the pond for about a day, as it had already left by Wednesday morning.
'This happens several times a summer, sharks will go in there,' he said. 'Quite often through a tide change or frankly at night when things quiet down, they'll find their way back out.'
Dodd said the institute estimates the shark is at least 20 feet long, based on the video and other clips taken from the pond that it received.
According to Dood, these kinds of videos can be valuable, as researchers can't be everywhere all the time.
'Citizen science is really important today,' Dodd said. 'With everybody having a cell phone, it's remarkable what people are able to capture, and it's all valuable.'
Christopher Gavin can be reached at
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