Beach goers were in for a surprise when a pregnant 14-foot great hammerhead shark appeared at an Alabama beach earlier this month.
Visitors helped pull the dead shark closer to shore, before the City of Orange Beach Coastal Resources arrived. The beach staff quickly pulled the rare hammerhead all the way to shore and lifted it onto the back of a pickup truck.
“We are very thankful that our staff was able to get the shark off of the beach, protected from the elements, and iced down within a few short hours of the initial call,” Orange Beach officials said in a Facebook post. “This was definitely an experience that we won’t forget.”
The staff contacted various agencies, including biologist at Mississippi State University Marine Fisheries Ecology, who arrived the next morning to a surprise of 40 great hammerhead pups.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species listed great hammerheads as critically endangered in 2018.
How did the great hammerhead die?
MSU biologists took many samples of the female shark, including its heart, liver, esophagus, stomach, scroll valve, spleen, kidneys, muscle tissue and pancreas. The team said in a Facebook post that none of the organs showed signs of trauma.
“We know that great hammerheads are especially prone to the physiological effects of capture stress, more so than most other shark species,” MSU fisheries biologists said in the Facebook post. “Pregnancy compounds this physiological stress.”
Biologists removed several vertebrae from the female, which can determine the age and birth location of the shark. The team also removed several fin clips from both the mom and pups. The DNA from the fin clips will contribute to a genetic population structure study, the group said.
Biologist said it’s impossible to determine the cause of death, but suspect it was the result of fishing mortality. They will preserve and donate the pups to local classrooms for educational purposes.
5 facts about great hammerhead sharks:
- The great hammerhead shark is the largest of nine hammerhead species. They are about 13 feet long and 500 pounds.
- A great hammerhead shark can birth 6 to 42 pups at once.
- Great hammerheads are not aggressive, and have “never been implicated in a fatal attack.” MSU biologist said.
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species listed great hammerheads as critically endangered.
- While there’s no data on the great hammerhead population, the current population is decreasing.
- The great hammerhead shark is the largest of nine hammerhead species. They are about 13 feet long and 500 pounds.
