A rare smalltooth sand tiger shark washed ashore in the United Kingdom Saturday. However, before the scientists could get to it to study it, some people had already decapitated it.
Rare Shark Decapitated
In a series of tweets, British historian and TV presenter Dan Snow shared a snap of a six-foot shark that washed ashore on Lepe Beach in Hampshire. He didn't know what type of fish it was.
In another tweet, he said his biologist friend Ben Garrod identified the shark as "exceptionally rare" and asked him to secure it. However, he failed because its head, tail, and fin were already missing when he got into the area. Nevertheless, he assembled a team to drag it off the beach.
They recovered a huge chunk of the shark, but some trophy hunters got there before them and grabbed the tail, head, and fin.
Snow said it's not illegal to remove parts of a dead fish that washed ashore. However, he called out those who decapitated the shark and took its fin and tail to return the missing parts, so the scientists could look at them and study them. He assured those people that they would return the parts after they study them.
So I'm as shark positive as the next woke dude but what in the hell is this fish that just washed up on my local beach where I regularly swim without a care in the world? pic.twitter.com/VOVPQ0Iaam
— Dan Snow (@thehistoryguy) March 18, 2023
Shark update.
— Dan Snow (@thehistoryguy) March 19, 2023
Biologist friends like @Ben_garrod identified it as an exceptionally rare visitor to these shores and asked me secure it. I failed. The head, tail and fin were grabbed before I get assemble a big enough team to drag it off the beach to the nearest road. pic.twitter.com/XinSiwrusU
In another video, Snow can be seen bagging up the shark's organs for ZSL to collect. ZSL is a science-driven conservation charity, creating a future where wildlife can thrive. He mentioned the missing head again and said they needed it because it's a once-in-a-lifetime discovery, and the scientists want to study its brain.
Ben Garrod told the BBC that the discovery was rare and would have allowed them to determine the shark's feeding patterns and water temperatures in international waters. He likened finding a whale breaching or a shark washing to finding a Roman hoard or Viking daggers.
Woman Attempted to Save the Smalltooth Sand Tiger Shark
Alisha Openshaw, a mother of two, attempted to rescue the large shark when she saw it in the shallow waters Friday. She dragged it into deeper water in an attempt to save it, Daily Mail reported.
Openshaw said they were heading for a walk with her mom and kids to the beach. They saw a couple of people looking at a shark splashing. She got worried because no one helped the shark.
She was sure it was a shark and was probably there for two hours already. She couldn't believe that no one had tried to help the fish. She didn't want to see any animal suffer, so she attempted to save the shark by pulling its tail into the deeper waters so it could swim.
According to her, the shark swam away toward the Isle of Wight. She said it was big.
She shared a video of her rescuing the shark on Facebook. She can be heard breathing heavily while trying to push the shark into deeper water due to its massive size.
She added that she thought the shark survived but believed it was the same shark found the following day.
The rare shark identified as a smalltooth sand tiger shark is classified as vulnerable and is rarely spotted.
The outlet noted that the deepwater shark is not aggressive toward humans and prefers warmer waters. They can grow up to 12 feet and weigh up to 289 kilograms.
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