Rattlesnake release program rattles Mass. Residents – via Herp Digest

By Scott W. Buchanan, The Providence Journal, Rhode Island

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - 1/29/17- Lou Perrotti unlocks a heavy metal door and steps into a utilitarian basement room at the Roger Williams Park Zoo. The temperature is unnaturally warm, kept constant in the mid 80s. A few steps in, and the unmistakable tremble of a rattlesnake's tail fills the air.

One rattle soon turns into a chorus. The noise is surprisingly loud.

It is in this unremarkable, windowless room where one of the region's most critical - and controversial - wildlife conservation programs is based.

Perrotti, the zoo's director of conservation programs, and others have raised hatchling timber rattlesnakes here for two years, intending them to be the first generation of snakes released on a Quabbin Reservoir island in central Massachusetts. The effort represents the best hope for ensuring long-term stability of the snakes' population in Massachusetts, and perhaps the entire region.

But an intense reaction by residents of the Quabbin area, following press coverage of the introduction effort that quickly spread on social media, threatens to stall - or even put an end to - the project.

"We do care very much about [endangered species], but also question what is the best way and place to protect them," Dan Hammock, a longtime board member of the North Worcester County Quabbin Anglers Association, said during public testimony last May. "We advocate for protecting them in ways that do not threaten to destroy our economy, needlessly endanger our lives, and subject us to possibly losing public access to the jewel of central Massachusetts - Quabbin.”

The introduction project, and the discussion it has generated, make up the latest chapter in a deeply American story of the relationship between people and rattlesnakes.

Populations of timber rattlesnakes in Southern states are generally considered more stable, but centuries of persecutory attitudes and policies have eliminated many northern populations and left many others at the brink. The few populations that once inhabited Canada are now gone, and no one has seen a timber rattlesnake in Maine since 1901. Rhode Island's last population faded out from Tiverton over 45 years ago. There are two known populations in Vermont, and they are on the verge of extinction in New Hampshire. Of the five populations in Massachusetts, one consists of about a half-dozen snakes.

Science has provided biologists with a firm understanding of what puts these populations at risk: intentional human persecution, habitat loss, illegal collection for the pet trade, casualties on roads, restricted gene flow due to isolation, and disease. But informed management efforts have done little to stem the tide of decline.

At about 1,350 acres, Mount Zion Island is the Quabbin Reservoir's largest island. It was selected as the proposed site for the introduction not only because it provides appropriate habitat, but in large part because it is closed to the public and would minimize the chance of people harming the snakes.

"If we put them in an area that is accessible, we're just opening ourselves up to poaching or killing," Perrotti said in an interview. "We feel a viable population is about 100 to 150 snakes. I think success would be if we see those kinds of numbers over the years. We'll be lucky if we can get one to five snakes out a year for the next five to ten years.”

The team hopes to gauge the progress of the program by monitoring the released snakes using radiotelemetry.

More than 10 invasive turtles of a kind that cannot be legally kept in Massachusetts were found dead in the marsh at Caddy Memorial Park this week – probably after being dumped there. – via Herp Digest

The Patriot Ledger  Posted Jul. 28, 2016 at 12:01 am Updated Jul 28, 2016 at 4:50 PM

QUINCY – More than 10 invasive turtles of a kind that cannot be legally kept in Massachusetts were found dead in the marsh at Caddy Memorial Park this week – probably after being dumped there.

Joanne Mainiero, president of the Massachusetts Humane Society in Weymouth, said someone walking in the park across from Wollaston Beach on Tuesday evening saw the turtles and emailed photos to her. A New England Aquarium veterinarian who viewed the photos on Wednesday identified the turtles as red-eared sliders.

The red-eared slider is an aquatic turtle most commonly kept as a pet. The species is native to the southern United States, including Texas and Louisiana, but it has flourished in other places as released pets.

Related content Quincy grocers trade in same turtle species that was found on Wollaston Beach Chinese turtle found in Quincy Officials hope to spread the word that releasing this species in local waters poses a risk to the environment and native turtles.

The red-eared slider is listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as one of the world’s 100 most invasive species, according to Tony LaCasse, the New England Aquarium’s media relations director.

Tom French, assistant director of the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife’s Natural Heritage and Endangered Species program, said the state was notified of the turtles at Caddy Memorial Park and planned to visit the site Wednesday. Because the red-eared slider is a freshwater species, the turtles would not have survived for long in a saltwater marsh if they were dumped alive, he said.

“They’re a common turtle in Asian food markets,” French said. “Whoever dumped them could have been trying to do a good thing by releasing them.”

French said the red-eared slider is an invasive species because it out-competes native species, including the endangered Northern red-bellied cooter.

The state once allowed pet stores to sell red-eared sliders, which can grow to be up to 10 inches long and weigh more than a pound. Owners of the turtles began releasing them when they got too large, allowing them to become established as a breeding non-native turtle in several areas of the state.

As a result, the state in 2014 modified wildlife regulations to prohibit red-eared sliders from being sold in pet stores and imported into Massachusetts.

Snake island: Massachusetts to establish colony of venomous rattlesnakes

The plan is to save a species that’s been wiped out in the state – but some residents fear the snakes, which are capable of swimming, will escape the island

Oliver Milman in New York

Tuesday 23 February 2016 18.56 GMTLast modified on Tuesday 23 February 201619.17 GMT

A colony of venomous rattlesnakes is to be established on an uninhabited island in Massachusetts in a bid to save a species that has been virtually wiped out in the state.

Massachusetts’ division of fisheries and wildlife has devised a plan to release timber rattlesnakes onto the island to build up a viable population. But some residents fear that the rattlesnakes, which are capable of swimming, will escape the island and maraud across areas frequented by people and their pets.

The plan will involve taking eight young snakes – each measuring four to five feet – from a captive breeding program and releasing them onto Mount Zion, an island in the Quabbin Reservoir in central Massachusetts. The island, which is 1,350 acres in size and 3.6 miles in length, is uninhabited and is considered prime rattlesnake territory as it has undisturbed forest and boulders for shelter, with plenty of chipmunks and mice to feast upon.

It is hoped that the snakes raised at the zoo in Providence, Rhode Island, will be hardy enough to survive predators and establish a colony on the island. A healthy colony population is 150 snakes but officials are first aiming for a group of 35 snakes.

Hundreds of thousands of timber rattlesnakes once slithered across what was to be become Massachusetts prior to Europeans’ arrival in the region. But mass deforestation, combined with persecution of rattlesnakes which, along with hawks, bobcats and other animals, had bounties on their heads, saw their numbers crash.

There are just five populations of timber rattlesnakes, comprising perhaps 200 individuals, left in the state. Tom French, assistant director of the Massachusetts division of fisheries and wildlife, said it is “amazing” that any still exist, although pressures are mounting.

Read more ...

Beachgoers help rescue stranded great white shark

Shark kept wet by beachgoers

UPDATED 11:53 PM EDT Jul 13, 2015

CHATHAM, Mass. —A great white shark that became stranded on a Chatham beach was kept wet by beachgoers until it could be pulled back into the water by officials Monday.

The shark, a 7-foot juvenile male, beached itself trying to get a seagull near the barrier breach on South Beach, a witness said.

"Last year we know that sharks were in that area, and that it got shallow and it was hard for them to get out," Cynthia Wigren, of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy said. "It was hard for them to get out, but for a shark to be beached, is a big deal."

"There was no way for the shark to get to where it could swim, so it just kept flapping and moving over," witness Kelly Skanell said.

The shark was kept wet by beachgoers until it was pulled back into the water by officials who attached a line to its rear caudal fin.

"What we did once it was completely beached is throw buckets of water, because we though that would sort of help keep it alive," Isabel Hegland said.

It took about an hour to slowly tow the shark back out to sea. The shark was tagged by Marine Fisheries officials and returned to the sea.

Read on and watch video ...

Rare Poitou donkey born in Massachusetts

STERLING, Mass. (AP) — A rare Poitou (PWAH'-too) donkey has been born in Massachusetts.

A Poitou donkey (female)

The male donkey was born Saturday at Davis Farmland, a petting zoo, spray park and animal sanctuary in the central Massachusetts town of Sterling.

Co-owner Larry Davis says there are only about 100 purebred Poitou donkeys in the world. They were once widespread work animals on farms but fell out of favor with the rise of motorized machinery.

Continued

Squee! Octopus Hatchling Spotted by Deep-Sea Explorer

A teeny octopus hatchling still cradled in its egg, a bubblegum pink coral and a bug-eyed bobtail squid are among the darling creatures spied by a deep-ocean explorer plying canyons off the northeastern coast of the United States.

The canyons carved into the continental slope near Nantucket, Mass., range from about 1,800 to 7,000 feet deep (550 to 2,100 meters). Currents carry sediments and nutrients into the clefts, supporting a higher diversity of marine life than the surrounding habitats, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) statement. The continental slope marks the steep break between the shallow shelf near the shore and the deep ocean.

The little-explored canyons are the focus of a deep-diving expedition by NOAA's Okeanos Explorer, a research ship with a new remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Researchers are documenting the canyon geology and diverse marine communities, which help support local fisheries.

Continued

Monkeys at Risk as Harvard Terminates Center: Op-Ed

Brian Hare studies the cognitive abilities of primates and dogs as associate professor of Evolutionary Anthropology and Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University and received his Ph.D. from Harvard. He recently co-authored the New York Times best-seller "The Genius of Dogs" with Vanessa Woods. He contributed this article to LiveScience’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. 

Nothing is more controversial in the realm of animal research than medical testing on primates. So when a primate center that is run by the Harvard Medical School announces that it will close, the world takes note. 

Last Tuesday, Harvard announced that the New England Primate Research Center in Southborough, Mass., will be shuttered over the next two years. All of the current research projects will be moved or shut down. The 1,500-individual-strong rhesus macaque colony and the collection of critically endangered cotton-top tamarins will need to be relocated (or potentially euthanized). 

Both the Boston Globe and the New York Times ran articles that were structured similarly: The center had a troubled past because of mistreatment of animals in its care. But, Harvard is claiming that the center is being closed down for economic reasons. A journalist looking for an angle must wonder — which is it? Both papers covered "both" sides of the story by interviewing researchers and what the Boston Globe dubbed "animal rights activists." 

Read on: http://www.livescience.com/29149-harvard-primate-center.html

Mass. Endangered Species Act Still Under Attack! - via Herp Digest

The wildlife of Massachusetts is facing it a new and terrifying threat. A bill to kill the MA Endangered Species Act (MESA) is circulating around the state legislature. It is circulating in several variations under different names. This is a very serious, multi-year effort by anti-wildlife developers and politicians. (See “Who is Bill Pepin?” in the Valley Advocate 2009). It will come to a head this year and your help is needed to put an end to this. This is not a plea for donations! You just need to do a little typing.

If you are a Massachusetts resident:
1. Contact your state senator and representative and tell them, “I expect you to support the Massachusetts Endangered Species regulations! Any ‘compromise’ bill should in no way diminish the ability of the Natural Heritage Program to do its job.”
2. Find your legislators’’ contact information at http://www.malegislature.gov/people/findmylegislator
3. Send a similar message to the governor. Contact information posted atwww.mass.gov/governor/constituentservices/contact/

MA Residents and Others:
The “Victims of Natural Heritage” have created a You Tube channel to spread their propaganda.
1. Go to their channel to vote down and leave disapproving comments on their four videos.
2. Is it a coincidence that the leader of this group is a high-ranking official (Valley Advocate, 2009) at an NBC affiliate and very professional videos have been posted on Youtube? If you do not believe in coincidence you may want to contact NBC Corporate atnbcuniversalviewerfeedback@nbcuni.com

Massachusetts wildlife needs your voice now! Please take a little time to help.

Climate Change Affects the Flight Period of Butterflies in Massachusetts

Feb. 12, 2013 — In a new study, Boston University researchers and collaborators have found that butterflies show signs of being affected by climate change in a way similar to plants and bees, but not birds, in the Northeast United States. The researchers focused on Massachusetts butterfly flight periods, comparing current flight periods with patterns going back more than 100 years using museum collections and the records of dedicated citizen scientists. Their findings indicate that butterflies are flying earlier in warmer years.

"Butterflies are very responsive to temperature in a way comparable to flowering time, leafing out time, and bee flight times," says Richard Primack, professor of biology and study co-author. "However, bird arrival times in the spring are much less responsive to temperature." As a result, climate change could have negative implications for bird populations in the Northeast, which rely on butterflies and other insects as a food source. 

The team, which includes Caroline Polgar (Boston University), Sharon Stichter (Massachusetts Butterfly Club), Ernest Williams (Hamilton College), and Colleen Hitchcock (Boston College) will publish its findings in the February 12 online edition of the journal Biological Conservation.

Read more:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130212154414.htm

Maine men accused in lobster crime face possible $190,000 fine

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - A Maine lobsterman and his son pleaded not guilty on Monday to illegally possessing more than 400 protected egg-bearing female lobsters and face a possible $190,000 fine, authorities said.

Marine patrol officers discovered the lobsters, marked with a v-shaped notch in their tails or mutilated to remove the notch, during an inspection last year of a boat owned by Ricky Curtis, the state Department of Marine Resources said in a statement.

Maine requires lobstermen to notch the tails of egg-bearing female lobsters before returning them to the ocean as a conservation measure. The lobsters may then reproduce several more times.

"We consider this a very serious crime," Colonel Joseph Fessenden, Marine Patrol chief, said in the statement.

"The illegal taking of any lobsters negatively affects the resource and is a direct theft from those lobstermen who abide by the laws every day that they fish," Fessenden said.

Ricky Curtis, 48, and his son Todd Curtis, 29, entered a not guilty plea through the mail at Knox County District Court in Rockland, Maine, a court clerk said.

They face a fine of more than $190,000 if they are convicted of the crime, the statement from wildlife authorities said.

Their attorney, Philip Cohen, declined to comment on the charges.

http://news.yahoo.com/maine-men-accused-lobster-crime-face-possible-190-214006222.html;_ylt=Avok9V3BMGT.DrMLCQ_dUXztiBIF;_ylu=X3oDMTNxdmEybzBqBG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBPZGRVU1NGBHBrZwM5NjhiZmY2Ni1iNzkyLTM0NTYtODg3MC03MmM4YWIyMDIyMTQEcG9zAzcEc2VjA3RvcF9zdG9yeQR2ZXIDM2NkMmZkNDEtNWU5My0xMWUyLTlmZGQtODE3YjM4ZDJkMDkz;_ylg=X3oDMTFtOW42ZDltBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lfG9kZARwdANzZWN0aW9ucw--;_ylv=3

Hudson students give baby turtles a head start (Blanding’s Turtles) – via Herp Digest

By Jeff Malachowski/Daily News staff, The MetroWest Daily News

HUDSON 1/5/13 — Instead of dodging chipmunks, herons and other predators in the wild, four young Blanding’s turtles safely wade in the shallow waters of two tanks at JFK Middle School.

In recent years, Blanding’s turtles have become a threatened species in Massachusetts because of the continued loss of their habitat, which are sandy marshes, and various predators in the wild. Blanding’s turtles - like many types of turtles - also are killed crossing busy roads.

"There are very few making it across," said science teacher Brian Blake.

Seventh-grade students in Blake and Beth Joki’s science classes are doing their part to protect the Blanding’s turtle population, with the students raising and caring for four Blanding’s turtles throughout the year. The turtles will be released into the Assabet Valley National Wildlife Refuge in the spring as part of a conservation project organized by local biologists.

Blanding’s turtles' survival rate the first year they are released is 85 percent, said Joki.

"We’re trying to build the Blanding’s population," said Joki.

All four yellow-spotted turtles, two named Squirt, one named Tyrone and another called Crush, need to grow before they can be released. They will be equipped with a tracking chip to allow biologists to monitor their movements once they're freed.

Joki and Blake received a $2,000 grant in June from the NEA Foundation to participate in the conservation project.

"Students will learn they, too, can make an impact on their environment in positive ways," said Joki.

Since receiving the four hatchlings in October, students have fed the turtles twice a day, cleaned their tanks each week and measured and weighed the reptiles. The turtles, which weigh about 10 grams and can fit on the tips of a few fingers, will grow to about 6 inches and weigh 80 grams when they are released.

"We’re helping them grow," said Jaylene Hurley, a seventh-grader. "I love having a class pet."

The turtles are not just class pets, as students have taken on the responsibility of caring for them and volunteered to take them home and care for them during school vacations.

"Watching them grow is my favorite part," Maia Klingenberger said as she scrubbed a tank with James Brooks, Keith Gagne and Ryan Hatfield. "They’re really cute."

Brooks’ favorite part about having the turtles is learning about their habitat and weighing and measuring them.

Allowing the students to take a hands-on approach to caring for the turtles and helping the animals grow helps bring the issue of the steadily declining Blanding’s turtle population to the forefront for students.

"It really brings it to life," said Blake.

7-foot-long leatherback sea turtle released off coast of Harwich Saturday after 2 days of care

A 655-pound leatherback sea turtle that had been stranded in thick mud in Truro Wednesday night was released off the coast of Harwich Port Saturday morning, New England Aquarium officials said.

A Massachusetts Audubon Society staff member spotted the 7-foot long black male turtle in Pamet Harbor Wednesday night, as high tide approached, said Connie Merigo, the aquarium’s rescue director.

Aquarium staff and volunteers, along with Audubon Society and International Fund for Animal Welfare staff, brought the turtle to the aquarium’s Animal Care Center in Quincy near dawn Thursday.

The sea turtle was about 100 pounds underweight, had low blood sugar, and an older injury on his front right fin, Merigo said.

“When he first got here he was fairly lethargic, especially out of the water,” head veterinarian Dr. Charles Innis said.

The turtle, which aquarium staff members did not name, was given an injectable sugar solution, vitamin and mineral supplements, steroids, and antibiotics to stave off infection, Innis said.

“We were fairly aggressive with this turtle because we have not been successful the last two leatherbacks we’ve had,” Innis said.

In the last 40 years, the New England Aquarium has only encountered four other leatherback turtles on shore. One, found in Chatham, was released and likely died shortly after. Another died on the beach as Aquarium workers tried to care for it.

Continued:   http://www.boston.com/metrodesk/2012/09/23/foot-long-leatherback-sea-turtle-released-off-coast-harwich-saturday-after-days-care/lKE5IF5JbJTrmaHDiNnI3N/story.html

Even Turtles Need a Nice Place to Call Home - via Herp Digest

By Julie Lasky, NYTimes, Published: August 15, 2012

Two years ago, the children’s-book author and illustrator Jan Brett and her husband, Joseph Hearne, a bassist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, installed a turtle pond on the grounds of their two-acre home in Norwell, Mass. It was inspired by her plan to write a book about an Eastern box turtle with wildflowers and ferns sprouting from its shell. In “Mossy,” due out next month (G. P. Putnam’s Sons; $17.99), the turtle spends some unhappy months on display at a natural-history museum until a penitent biologist restores it to its habitat.

Ms. Brett, 62, waited and waited for a turtle to move into her pond. Now, mere weeks before the book’s publication, one is said to be living there. A suspicious reporter had questions, which Ms. Brett answered good-naturedly by phone.

You’ve done books about hedgehogs. You’ve done books about chickens. You’ve even done books about gingerbread babies. How did you get started on turtles?

We were at our summer place dangling our heels into the lake at the end of our dock, when I looked down and saw what looked like waterweeds in the shape of a turtle. It rose out of the water. It was a snapper turtle growing all these waterweeds on its back. So I got the idea: what about a book about a turtle that grows a garden on its back? But then I thought it needed a terrestrial turtle. The turtle in my pond is an Eastern painted turtle, which is aquatic.

Before we talk about your turtle, can we discuss the pond?

We had it made specifically for turtles and for the book. We made it quite deep, so they could hibernate there, below the frost line. We had basking rocks made that are a little above the pond surface.

Basking rocks?

Even though aquatic turtles live in water, they need to haul out — that’s the expression used — and dry their shells.

Then what happened?

We knew we were on the right track when we got a giant bullfrog. That was last year. This year, we have tadpoles.

So when did this alleged turtle show up?

In June. We have wetlands beyond the house. I was afraid turtles wouldn’t come because they were enamored of those ponds. Finally, one moved in. I think the sound of the bullfrogs did it. In the Northeast, so many ponds form in the spring, but then they dry up in the summer. When the pond dries up, tadpoles aren’t able to survive.

Are you saying that turtles are reassured by the sound of bullfrogs because they know they’ll find a pond deep enough to remain in year-round?

That’s my theory. A herpetologist following an Eastern box turtle noticed that, in very dry weather, it would tap its foot on the ground, and then earthworms, which are its food, would rise to the surface thinking it was raindrops. When I read that, I was incredulous, but if you’re a turtle or any kind of animal on the ground, it’s your survival. Nature is complex.

You’re sure you didn’t just pick up a turtle at a pet store?

I thought about it. But, no, there was no pet-shop intervention. You don’t know what kind of disease might appear. I also thought of buying one from the Internet, but if you take a turtle and put it in a pond, it will crawl off and go where it wants to go.

Is it possible that an Eastern box turtle like Mossy will find its way to the pond?

I had been hoping, and it still might happen. Eastern box turtles are constantly on the move in ponds and rivers, where their food source is. They browse. So I planted strawberries and lingonberries and different flowers around the pond to attract them. There’s lobelia, joe-pye weeds, cattails, waterlilies, tons of ferns. I even planted squash.

You’ve owned some of the animals that served as models for the characters in your books. Hedgehogs and chickens spring to mind. And now you have a turtle. Have you considered more traditional pets for inspiration?

I’ve done a lot of bear books, and that’s because it’s easy to put the features of a human being on a bear: bears can stand up, and they have eyes in the front of their head. It’s the reason I don’t do many reptiles in my books. I’m doing a chicken Cinderella at the moment. Chickens have very expressive body language.

Would you recommend other people install turtle ponds?

I would. And my biggest recommendation is to have two big rocks where you can invite someone over and sit. We have breakfast at the pond every morning, with fresh eggs from the chickens. I cook them up, and I make my own bread. The turtle doesn’t usually come out at that time. She comes up at about 9. I say “she,” but I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl.

What do you look at from your perch?

So many different kinds of dragonflies and damselflies. I’ve identified three different kinds, but don’t ask me what they are. The cardinal flowers are my favorite because hummingbirds come to them. We have black-eyed daisies and, in fall, New England asters, which reseed themselves. The pond turns purple around the edges. There are tons of birds, and they bring some of the seeds, I assume. Maybe a bird book will come of it. 

Whales swim by woman off Truro (USA)

A woman relaxing on an inner tube off the coast at Truro got quite a surprise when she was joined by three humpback whales. Carina Shane was on a friend’s boat about a half-mile offshore last Saturday when she decided to take a dip. She was lounging on the inner tube, talking to her friend. “All of a sudden I heard this blow-out, so I turned and it was three of them coming at me and I panicked,” she said. “I was crazy scared.”


http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2012/07/21/woman_says_she_was_crazy_scared_when_humpback_whales_swam_near_her_off_truro/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Massachusetts+news


A whale's tale: Humpbacks off Truro coast


Pictures:  http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/gallery/photo_gallery_20120720594401?pg=6

Shark sightings prompt 'Jaws' fears in US

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water... the sharks are back off Cape Cod.

At least two great whites have been sighted off the US East Coast, not far from where the terrifying shark attack film "Jaws" was filmed.

While authorities are urging caution, some tourists are traveling to the area in the hope of seeing the predators.

The town of Chatham in the affluent Massachusetts beach resort of Cape Cod has barred swimming within 300 feet (100 meters) of seals, a favorite food of the predators.

Chatham harbormaster Stuart Smith said his office has been notified of seal carcasses apparently attacked by sharks found along the eastern shore.

"At this time, the town of Chatham is not closing our east-facing beaches to swimming in its entirety, but simply suggesting that beachgoers, mariners and swimmers pay close attention to their surroundings while in the water and to not venture too far from shore," Smith said in a statement to local media.

The Cape Cod Shark Hunters, a group that conducts research with scientists from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, said it had spotted two sharks on July 3.

Photographs showed one of them swimming in shallow waters just off the coast. The group sighted at least three other great whites the previous week.

But the researchers stressed that despite their huge size and razor-sharp teeth, the white sharks are not the blood-thirsty beasts Hollywood makes them out to be.

"Contrary to popular belief and Hollywood folklore, the white shark is not a mindless juggernaut recklessly swimming around with its dorsal fin cutting through the surface," the group said on its website.

Shark spotters saw at least half a dozen sharks in the area last year alone, and several Chatham beaches were closed last year as a result.

"Jaws," the 1975 Steven Spielberg film about a small New England community terrorized by a great white shark, took home three Oscars but also contributed to an outsized fear of sharks in the United States.

For now, though, the big predators appear to be tourist bait in Chatham.

"It is very good for business," Keith Lincoln, who operates the Monomoy Island Ferry-Rip Ryder, told NECN television.

"That is the craze right now, everybody wants to see the great whites."

http://news.yahoo.com/great-white-sightings-prompt-jaws-fears-us-182211685.html