First Documentation of Predation on a Porbeagle Shark (Lamna nasus) by an Atlantic Gray Seal (Halichoerus grypus atlantica) at Mount Desert Rock, Maine

Megan L. Maloney^1,*, Sean K. Todd¹, Dan DenDanto¹, and Matthew M. Davis²

¹Allied Whale, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME 04609. ²Maine Department of Marine Resources, Bureau of Marine Science, West Boothbay Harbor, ME, 04575. *Corresponding author.

Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 32, Issue 2 (2025): N5–N11

First published early online: 10 May 2025

Abstract
On 1 August 2024, an adult male Halichoerus grypus atlantica (Atlantic Gray Seal) was documented predating a Lamna nasus (Porbeagle Shark) off of Mount Desert Rock, ME. This observation represents the second published documented instance of predation on a Porbeagle Shark globally and the first suggesting a Gray Seal as the predator. This event provides novel insight into interspecific interactions and calls for further research into the behavioral ecology of Gray Seals and Porbeagles.

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