This monster shark’s going totally nuclear on New York’s coastline!
A massive, nearly 12-foot man-eater has been wreaking havoc on large marine animals in the waters off Long Island — sparking a hunt for the predator and a wild theory that she mutated from a nuclear waste leak.
The giant mako shark — dubbed “Sharkzilla” by experts — reportedly sunk her teeth into a humpback whale near Montauk, leaving it with a 2-foot bite mark.
She also chomped a grey seal, giving it a 22-inch gash, and attacked 400-pound tuna in the same area, according to a new Discovery Channel “Shark Week” episode that airs Friday night.
The injuries are a sign that humungous sharks are returning to the region, marine scientist Craig O’Connell said on the show, “Sharkzilla Takes New York,” which was previewed by the Daily Mail.
In a chilling twist, O’Connell also floated the theory that decades-old barrels of leaking nuclear waste could have genetically mutated the animal into a super-shark, and caused other wildlife to morph in a vast underwater canyon, the outlet reported.
“In the late 1960s, they dumped 15,000 barrels of nuclear waste in the Hudson Canyon,” O’Connell said. “Ten years later, they went out to check on these barrels, and they were all leaking.”
“Radioactive leaks could be impacting wildlife, even top predators,” he said.
“If animals are subjected to nuclear waste, this could cause genetic mutations and abnormal growth. If this predator is genetically altered, it could be faster, stronger and deadlier than any predator on Earth. We are calling it Sharkzilla,” he said.
On the show, O’Connell frantically hunted the shark in order to tag and collect its tissue for radioactive testing.
O’Connell also said there are signs that the New York coastline is a hotbed for massive mako sharks, which can grow more than 14 feet long.
“In the past, this is the place you came to catch monster sharks. There are so many records right here off the shores of Montauk,” he said.
“All these monster sharks were completely fished out. They’re gone,” he said. “But all the evidence we are seeing is telling me that all these big sharks might be back. I know those big sharks are out there, and we are going to find them.”
Test results ultimately found no evidence that the “Sharkzilla” was radioactive, and scientists said she was likely a pregnant mako shark with exceptionally fast and deadly hunting skills.
The underwater investigation also revealed the area is now as a breeding ground for makos, and that formidable female sharks were likely hunting to feed their developing pups.
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