Suspected great white shark makes rare appearance in Oregon river

ASTORIA, Ore., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A pair of men catching crabs in Oregon caught video of a rare sight -- a suspected great white shark in the Columbia River.

Josh Robb said he and his father-in-law were crabbing Saturday west of Astoria when they noticed an injured seal in the water.

Moments later, they spotted the cause of the seal's injuries -- an attacking shark.

Robb captured video of the scene from about 15 yards away and posted the footage to Facebook.

"It was almost as big as our boat," Robb told KGW-TV. "Once we saw that we got the heck out of dodge."

Robb said he believes the predator was a great white shark, and biologists from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said the shark in the video appears to be either a great white, or its smaller cousin, the salmon shark. Both types of sharks are often spotted off the coast of Oregon, but rarely in the river, officials said.