Just When You Thought it Was Safe…

… To go in the water in Chatham, the harbor master warns beachgoers to stay alert for seals after sharks took giant bites out of two of the lovable scamps.

From the Herald:

To avoid winding up with a similar bite mark, [Harbor Master Stuart F.X.] Smith urges bathers to avoid swimming with the Great White’s food source. He said the seals are here for bait fish – which they eat their weight in each day. The sharks are here for the seals. So he advises staying far away from that part of the food chain.

“Hence the not-swimming-with-seals recommendation,” he said. “I mean the sharks naturally prey on seals, that’s their food source, not to mention that seals will bite as well.”

Is swimming near half-ton wildlife something a lot of people do when they go to the beach? We thought most people just liked to tan themselves, drink beer, and listen to music we hate.

Maybe this falls under the “common sense” umbrella set forth in the Globe?

“The beach-going public should exercise common sense and be aware of their surroundings,” Lisa Capone, a spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said yesterday.

Don’t swim with sea life with big sharp teeth and an appetite. Gotcha.