© WECTThe ten-foot deceased shark was found near Crystal Pier at the Oceanic Restaurant.
The five-hour necropsy began by photo documenting the 10-foot, 687-pound juvenile animal for matching against images of known great white sharks in the North Atlantic.
The animal had multiple shark bites along the flank and ventrum, and was missing the left flipper. Samples were collected to determine if these wounds occurred pre- or post- mortem. There was one deep linear laceration on the right side that was in the process of healing and was not implicated in the death of the shark.
Officials then began the internal exam by opening the right abdomen and removing the large left and right lobes of the liver, which represented 15 percent of the shark's weight.
Multiple muscle samples were collected along the length of the shark to help determine the predator's swimming efficiency.
The stomach was also opened and scant remains of a large drum fish were found. Gut content samples were also collected for multiple biotoxin tests.
Officials were not able to determine a cause of death for the animal, but hope test samples collected during the necropsy will help identify factors that led to its death.
According to Wrightsville Beach Police Chief House, the shark was found dead near Crystal Pier at the Oceanic Restaurant. UNCW's Marine Mammal Stranding program moved the shark from the beach.
Thomas Lankford, associate professor at UNCW's Biology and Marine Biology Department, said the bites were probably from other animals trying to scavenge the deceased shark.
Lankford explained great white sharks aren't an unusual sight off the coast of North Carolina, but it's quite rare for one to wash ashore.
Tuesday's necropsy drew quite a crowd as students from UNCW took pictures of the female shark. A crew worked to clean the shark and examine it for parasites and injuries before opening it up.
The shark's body parts are sent to labs around the country for research and testing to determine how the shark died.
"This is a very rare event in our area," Professor Dr. Ann Pabst said. "This is the opportunity to learn a great deal of the biology of this really poorly understood and really threatened marine species. What's really interesting about what's going on behind us is that there are many students involved with this."
According to Pabst, UNCW specializes in these type of investigations and is also very helpful to send out for research.
"We are all part of the same network, but at UNCW we tend to do more of the necropsies and the investigation of the stranded animals. All of our colleagues help in that process, but I think it's one of those things where each organization takes a specific role and our role is to be able to do more of the necropsy based research," Pabst said.
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