It might sound like something out of a science-fiction movie but scientists have suggested that a mutant shark could be terrorising the New York coastline following a string of attacks on other sealife.
The incidents have seen a humpback whale discovered with a 24-inch wound, a 400lb tuna ravaged in the ocean, and a grey seal suffering from a huge bite mark, all around the region of Montauk at the east end of Long Island.
All of which has sparked theories that a 12-foot-long Mako shark — dubbed Sharkzilla — could be responsible.
The attacks came under the spotlight in a new Discovery Channel show, Sharkzilla Takes New York, which aired in the US over the weekend, with local shark scientist Craig O’Connell saying it could herald the return of sharks to the region.
However, the theories don’t end there. O’Connell has also mooted the chilling possibility that the local wildlife could have fallen victim to leaking barrels of nuclear waste, stored in an underwater canyon in the area for decades.
And yes that does mean what you think it does. We’re talking radioactive mutant super-sharks.
‘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.’
He added: ‘Radioactive leaks could be impacting wildlife, even top predators. If animals are subjected to nuclear waste, this could cause genetic mutations and abormal growth.
‘If this predator is genetically altered, it could be faster, stronger and deadlier than any predator on earth. We are calling it Sharkzilla.’
The show sees O’Connell heading off on a search for the shark to tag it, and collect samples for radioactive testing, with his team heading towards the underwater canyon in a bid to lure sharks and collect tissue samples.
After six hours of capturing footage using a ‘baited’ camera, they attracted a number of sharks including a great white and two female Makos — but these quickly swam away, raising fears they had been scared off by something else.
The team used other methods to lure the sharks, including a decoy dolphin fitted with a piece of tuna, and a ‘blubber blaster’ designed to imitate the remains of a dead whale, bursting at the surface of the water,
Ultimately, ‘Sharkzilla’ appeared and O’Connell and his crew were able to eventually get close enough to get the tissue samples they needed.
But for those wondering whether they were faced with a mutant creature, it’s worth noting that O’Connell’s theories about a huge nuclear-powered glow-in-the-dark shark were just that.
Having collected the samples, O’Connell and his team established that there was no evidence to prove that radioactive sharks were causing chaos in the waters around Montauk, and that Sharkzilla was simply a pregnant female Mako seeking out food sources for her young pups.
It does, however, prove that sharks could be returning to Montauk, with the area once famous as a destination for the creatures before overfishing devastated their numbers.
‘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,’ O’Connell explained.
‘All these monster sharks were completely fished out. They’re gone. But all the evidence we are seeing is telling me that all these big sharks might be back.’
Known as the world’s fastest shark, the Mako can grow to as much as 13 feet long and weigh as much as 1,250lb (567kg), while their speed in the water allows them to hunt for fish like mackerel and tuna as well as other marine life.
While they might look and sound terrifying — mutant or otherwise — the chances of humans coming into contact with them are comparatively rare, since Mako sharks tend to live in deep, open water zones rather than close to public beaches and other areas populated by humans.
According to data from the International Shark Attack File, there are just 10 recorded attacks on humans by Mako sharks between 1980 and 2024, of which three proved fatal.
While shark attacks can, and do, happen across the world, PETA states on its website that the chances of a human being killed by any type of shark at all are around 1 in 3.7 million.