WELLFLEET – A thresher shark was found dead on Mayo Beach in Wellfleet yesterday morning.
The discovery was made by a man walking his dog and state shark scientist Greg Skomal was notified.
Skomal said he hasn’t had a chance to go to the beach and see the shark for himself, but did analyze it through pictures.
“The animal looks like it’s in very good condition, I don’t see any evidence of it being captured or discarded, it looks relatively fresh,” said Skomal. “My guess is it was stuck in the bay and got cold shocked and ended up on the beach.”
According to Skomal, thresher sharks are found off the Cape’s shoreline seasonally, but by November the sharks are leaving the area, which makes it unusual to see the shark found on Mayo Beach.
“The animal was probably doing quite well but got caught up in the hook of Cape Cod and tried to move south and didn’t make it and ended up on the beach,” said Skomal. “We’ll never really know exactly what happened but it doesn’t look like there’s any signs of trauma to the animal.”
By JUSTIN SAUNDERS, CapeCod.com Newscenter
About CapeCod.com NewsCenter
Speak Your Mind