A woman walking her dog stumbled upon a massive thresher shark washed up on a Cornwall beach.
Teams from the Marine Strandings Network, a flagship project of the Cornwall Wildlife Trust, have now collected the body and will conduct an autopsy to ascertain the cause of death.
The shark, estimated to be around two-and-a-half metres long by the dog walker, was discovered at about 8am on New Year’s Day. A video showed volunteers and workers removing it with a stretcher while beachgoers observed.
Cornwall Wildlife Trust states that the thresher shark is a migratory species that travels through UK waters during the summer months. These sharks can grow up to six metres in length and weigh as much as 340kg, reports Cornwall Live.
The IUCN Red List classifies the thresher shark as Vulnerable. According to their website: “The thresher shark spends most of its time in the deep waters of the open sea, rarely straying into coastal areas. To survive in these colder waters, they have evolved to be endothermic. This means that they can keep their body temperature higher than the temperature of the surrounding water.”
They do this through a specialised heat exchange system, which allows them to conserve heat produced through internal body mechanisms such as metabolism or muscle shivering. “.
Debbie De Ste Croix, a volunteer worker, has confirmed that the shark found deceased had been identified as a thresher shark. She also mentioned that the Marine Strandings Network pathology team would be taking charge of the situation.
In the interim, she has advised the public to maintain a safe distance from the carcass and to restrain their dogs, citing potential biohazard concerns. The shark was subsequently removed later the same day.