On Friday, a massive, endangered shark put on quite a show for boaters less than two miles from the Newport Beach Harbor.
A group on board a Davies Lager Whale Watching boat saw what Jessica Rodriguez, the company's education and communications manager, identified as a likely 600-pound Mako shark feeding on the carcass of a swordfish.
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The exciting and intense scene unfolded just 10 feet from the onlooker's boat, but as big and scary as they look, Mako sharks are rarely known to go after humans.
Rodriguez said these large predatory sharks are more interested in their food source of big, bony fish like the swordfish.
While this particular Mako was estimated at six to eight feet long, Rodriguez said a full-grown Mako can reach 12 feet and weigh more than 1,200 lbs.
Rodriguez said adult Mako sharks are not known to have any natural predators, so "He did not care that we were nearby," making for a remarkable close encounter.
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