Shark Spotted Feeding on Whale Carcass Off Maine Coast

The retired captain of a charter fishing boat in southern Maine captured some incredible images of a shark feeding on a whale carcass off the coast of Drake's Island in Wells on Friday morning.

"It's kind of a cool thing. Fun to watch," said Steve Brettell, who snapped the photos.

Brettell, who ran a charter fishing business for over 30 years before retiring last year, said he was heading out to check some lobster traps when he got a call from a friend who said there was a dead whale a couple miles away with several sharks around it.

By the time he got there, Bretell said he only saw one shark around the whale.

"I was there about a half hour," he said. "He just circled around, circled around and every once in a while he'd come up and take a bite. It was fun to watch. He was a big guy."

Steve Brettell

Brettell said what was left of the whale eventually washed ashore at Mother's Beach in Kennebunk on Friday afternoon -- "right in the middle of a million people."

The exact species of shark is not yet known, but speculation among residents is that it was either a porbeagle or a great white.

Police said no beaches were closed in either town.

You can see more images of the shark below: