Huge 15ft shark found alive on Yorkshire beach after getting stranded
A HUGE 15ft shark was found alive on a beach in Yorkshire yesterday.
The basking shark, which is the second-largest fish in the world, was stranded in shallow waters on Filey beach in North Yorkshire on Thursday evening.
Basking sharks are fairly common in Scotland but it’s very rare to see them on the east coast.
The harmless creatures are mostly seen in British waters from spring until autumn, with occasional sightings in winter.
Footage filmed by locals showed rescuers in the water holding the shark’s huge dorsal fin.
Boffins were baffled to find the shark so close to the shore – and attempted to help it back into deeper waters.
Large crowds gathered to try to help the creature when medics arrived at about 6pm.
Rescue workers managed to get the shark off the beach and back into the water, then tried to get the shark to swim back out into the open sea.
The British Divers Marine Life Rescue said: “With the help of the local Coastguard and RNLI teams, together they managed to guide the 4.4-metre long creature back into the water as the tide came in.
“Unfortunately, the shark appeared to be struggling as it was listing consistently over to its right-hand side and circling in the shallows, sometimes needing support from the rescuers.”
The confused creature, which may have suffered brain damage during its ordeal, kept heading back to the beach.
BASKING SHARKS
- The basking shark is the second-largest fish in the world
- They can be up to 12 metres in length and weigh up to six tonnes
- Despite their size, they feed on zooplankton
- They are believed to have an average lifespan of about 50 years
- They are most commonly seen in the summer, when they arrive in British waters
- The large, black, triangular dorsal fin moves slowly through the water, with the tail tip and bulbous snout often visible above the waves
- They are found all around the UK coast, but most frequently sited around the south-west of England, Wales, Isle of Man and west coast of Scotland
- The North East Atlantic population are classed as endangered and are protected in the UK under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.
They continued: “Despite attempts to move it into deeper water the shark continued to head back to the beach where it restranded and later in the evening was put to sleep by a vet due to the poor prognosis.”
“Thank you to all Medics, Filey Lifeboat Station, Filey Coastguard, Scarborough SEA LIFE Sanctuary and RSPCA (England & Wales) who attended plus our Hotline Coordinator Teri who did what they could for the animal under these unusual and difficult circumstances.”
The charity said the shark is thought to have been a male and was around the size and age where it would have been maturing into an adult.
It is possible a lack of oxygen passing through its gills in the shallow water could have explained its behaviour.
Basking sharks are most often seen on the west coast of the UK, but sightings in the North Sea are rare.
Second only to the whale shark – the basking shark is one of the largest of its species in the world and can grow to 10m.
Basking sharks are even bigger than great white sharks.
This type of shark is also listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The name basking comes from the animal feeding at the surface of the waters, where it’s warmer.
They are not a danger to people as they feed only on plankton – swimming along with their huge mouth open and using specialised rakers in the gills to extract their food as it passes through them.
Basking sharks are thought to live for more than 50 years.
