A great white shark was thrashing close to the shore at North Bay wharf in Ingonish on Thursday.
A great white shark was thrashing close to the shore at North Bay wharf in Ingonish on Thursday.
The Marine Animal Response Society (MARS) is looking for the great white shark that died after getting stranded at a beach in Ingonish.

The shark was first spotted at North Bay wharf around lunchtime on Thursday swimming close to the beach and wharf, as well as thrashing in the water.

Then it was found washed up on the shore at Broad Cove Beach where it had died and washed back out into the ocean before it could be retrieved by MARS for examination to determine why it got stranded and died.



In a statement posted to their Facebook page on Friday, MARS asked people to call their hotline (1-866-567-6277) if they see the animal.

"(Thursday), a live white shark stranded in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park on Broad Cove Beach near Ingonish, Nova Scotia," said the statement.

"Despite the efforts of members of the local public, the animal was not able to be returned to the ocean and unfortunately passed. Personnel with Parks Canada attempted to retrieve the animal but, given its size ... this wasn't possible without additional equipment."

MARS said the shark was about four metres (13 feet) and that the endangered animal is a protected species under the Canadian Species Act, thus, illegal to handle or possess a part of it without a permit.

"As this is an incredibly rare event involving an endangered species, we are keen to perform a necropsy to try to determine what may have been the reason for its stranding and subsequent death," MARS said.

( More here)