A young white shark, over 10 feet long, washed ashore in North Myrtle Beach Monday night. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources removed the untagged shark from the shore and said she presented no threat to beachgoers.
According to KCBD11, Authorities explained that white sharks are typically only winter visitors to South Carolina waters. SCDNR biologist Bryan Frazier said the shark measured 10.5 feet long and although they did not weigh it, it was estimated to weigh around 500 pounds.
“There was no readily apparent cause of death, we took tissue samples and those have been sent for pathology, we will not know anything until those samples are processed,” Frazier said.
According to SCDNR, it’s not uncommon for large coastal sharks, whales, dolphins, and sea turtles to become stranded on the shore when ill and/or injured, but a white shark stranded in South Carolina is unusual.
SCDNR said in a statement the stranded white shark offers “SCDNR biologists and visiting scientists from Georgia Aquarium and Ripley’s Aquariums a rare opportunity to collect detailed data on one of our largest ocean predators.” A necropsy performed by SCDNR revealed “nodules on the shark’s spleen but no conclusive cause of illness.”
