The victim of yesterday's terrifying shark attack off Long Nook Beach in Truro has been identified by authorities as William Lytton, 61, of Scarsdale, N.Y.
"I'm happy to hear everything with the response went pretty well and we were able to get him the care he needed in a timely manner. We feel for Mr. Lytton and his family and wish him the best," Brian Carlstrom, superintendent of Cape Cod National Seashore, told the Herald.
Lytton is in serious condition this morning at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, hospital spokesman Jeremy Lechan said.
Attempts to reach his family have been unsuccessful. Lechan said the family has requested privacy.
Lytton suffered reported puncture wounds to his leg and torso. The breed of shark believed to have bitten him has not been confirmed.
Eyewitnesses said Lytton was in deep water 30 yards from shore when he was attacked.
Carlstrom said law-enforcement rangers are trying to pin down what Lytton was doing at the time, where he was, and what were the conditions.
"It's an ongoing investigation," he said. "We're trying to learn as many details as we can about how this incident happened."
Long Nook Beach, popular with nude sunbathers, is one of 22 town beaches overseen by Cape Cod National Seashore.
Carlstrom said all beaches with lifeguards present "are open, and the closures are on a moment by moment notice. Sharks are out there all the time and we close beaches routinely when we're aware of their presence, usually for an hour or two.
"We fly the shark warning flag every day. We have all summer," he said. "Our lifeguards spend a lot of time answering questions about sharks."
He said there is signage at the entrance to Long Nook advising swimmers "to be shark smart" and to "not swim near seals." Also, to swim close to shore where your feet can touch the ocean bottom, to not swim at dawn or dusk and to avoid wearing shiny jewelry in the water that a predator could mistake for fish scales.
Asked if there are seals at Long Nook, Carlstrom said, "There can be seals anywhere along the seashore – grey seals that can weigh up 500 pounds."
Great whites, increasingly prevalent in Atlantic waters off Cape Cod during the summer, "tend to go toward the smaller ones," he said, "but they'll take whatever comes by."
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy said in a statement that sharks "test the waters" with potential prey by using their teeth much like humans use their hands to "determine if what they encounter is prey or something to avoid."
