This dramatic video, parts of which are graphic, shows what conservationists said was a great white shark attacking a grey seal in shallow water at the beach in High Head, Cape Cod, on November 26.

Beachgoers told Storyful that the shark “came from nowhere” to attack the seal

Kenvor Cothey, who filmed the video while walking on the beach with his family, told Storyful the seal managed to get to the beach at first, but the shark had taken a huge chunk out of its lower flank. The seal lay on the beach for about 10 minutes as the shark circled for a while then disappeared. The seal limped back into the sea, then washed up a few hundred yards up the shore, having died of its wounds, Cothey said.

Cothey said that witnessing the attack with his family led to a tough conversation with his children about the realities of nature. Credit: Kenvor Cothey via Storyful