Stranded Great White Shark Rescued By Beachgoers In Massachusetts [Video]
Great white sharks are known for their ferocious nature underwater. The vicious predator is amongst the most dangerous creatures to lurk beneath surface of our oceans. However, as a recent incident in Chatham, Massachusetts, proves, even the fiercest of underwater predators become helpless once they are on land. In this case, a 7-foot great white shark was rescued by beachgoers after it ended up stranded on the beach.
According to WCVB News, the great white shark was trying to prey on a seagull when it encroached too far inland. The poor animal ended up being stranded in the sand with nowhere to go. Had it not been for the beachgoers who were on the beach, the shark would have died. According to CNBC News, over 40 people gathered around the shark, kept it wet till the time authorities reached the spot, and released the animal back into the ocean. Initial reports say that the 7-foot great white shark was a juvenile male.
Cynthia Wigren, of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, who was a witness to the incident, says as follows.
“Last year we know that sharks were in that area, and that it got shallow and it was hard for them to get out. It was hard for them to get out, but for a shark to be beached, is a big deal.”
Another witness, a local beachgoer identified as Kelly Skanell, said “there was no way for the shark to get to where it could swim, so it just kept flapping and moving over.”
After authorities arrived, they attached a line to its rear caudal skin and helped it reach the waters. The beachgoers, in the meantime, kept the shark wet by throwing buckets of water.
“What we did once it was completely beached is throw buckets of water, because we thought that would sort of help keep it alive,” Isabel Hegland said. The authorities took about an hour to slowly help the shark get back into the sea.
The news of the beached great white shark comes just days after the Inquisitr reported about an entangled whale that was rescued from being attacked by a great white shark. The area where the shark was beached had also recently reported about two great white sharks, each measuring 9 and 12 feet long. Another shark, a tagged 20-foot great white specimen named Avery, was also spotted in the area last week.
[Image via YouTube]
