A 13-foot thresher shark washed ashore in Huntington Beach on Wednesday with a hook in its mouth.
Images of the shark were posted to Facebook by the California State University Long Beach Shark Lab. The mature female shark was collected by lab personnel and a necropsy was planned for Thursday.
Thresher sharks, which can measure nearly 20 feet, are targeted by anglers but it was not immediately clear if being hooked was a factor in the shark’s death.
The shark’s length was measured from snout to the tip of its tail fin. Thresher sharks, which are not considered dangerous to humans, use their scythe-like tails to stun prey.
–Top image courtesy of the CSLB Shark Lab