Day 18.261: Shark

Probably the single most surprising moment of our whale watch was getting a photograph of a shark. The first I knew was a loud cheer or explanation from several people further back along the port side of the boat. I turned to see what they were reacting to and just saw a large fish jump clean out of the water again. I had no idea it was a shark. The third time, I was somewhat ready and took three photos. The third was just of the re-entry splash, but the others were these:

Common thresher shark breaching

What goes up, must come down

It did not appear again after that. I discussed the event with one of the crew members on the boat who informed me this was far from a common sight for them. There was some discussion about the likely species of shark on the boat, but thanks to my friend J and his connections, I was able to get a definitive identification today from Matt Davis at the Maine Department of Marine Resources who was kind enough to say some nice words about the photo too.