Claire Reid
People have spotted a sad detail after a dead great white shark washed up on a beach in Florida.
The deceased shark, which is estimated to be about 13-15 feet long, washed up on Navarre, Florida on Friday (23 February).
Navarre Beach Fire and Rescue officials initially said they thought the shark was a pregnant female, but an autopsy has shown that she wasn’t pregnant.
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Heather Cox, who worked on the autopsy of the creature, told South Rosa News: "Based on the lack of development of her oocytes, it would have been another year or two before she would have even been capable of becoming pregnant." You can see a clip of the shark here:
She went on to say the blood in the shark’s mouth was caused by lividity.
"Once the heart stops pumping blood, it begins to settle to lower portions of the body and can start seeping out of places like the mouth," she explained.
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Navarre Beach Fire Rescue Chief Danny Fureigh said it wasn’t unusual for a shark to wash up on a beach, but said it was on the large side.
He told Newsweek: "It had some size to it. It is unusual that a great white this size washes up on the beach.”
Photos and video of the shark were shared online where people noticed the shark, sadly, had a hook in its mouth.
Commenting on the clip, one person said: “Looks like that great white had been hooked by some fishing gear. Even when the line is cut or breaks, the damage caused by the struggle itself can lead to eventual death for a shark in the hours or days after, known as post-release mortality.”
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Another said: “So sad. What a loss. She was only estimated to be 30 years old.. that’s young for a great white. So she didn’t die from old age.”
A third wrote: “You can see the hooks in [her] mouth and like they’ve been cut off.”
As yet a cause of death has not been publicly disclosed.
Officials also confirmed that this shark is not the same one that was caught off Navarre Beach earlier this month and was later released.
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Officials said that shark had a scar on its back, and the dead female shark did not have the same markings.
Great whites are protected and must be released if they are caught.