Law Enforcement in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, A local towing company was enlisted to remove a “huge” great white shark that washed up on the shore.
“While this was not a normal call for service and this was not a local towing operation, we responded to the call as usual,” Orleans Police said in a Facebook post. “Unfortunately, this giant had washed up on the shore, so we decided to have Dennis tow it, as did the four-wheel-drive vehicle that was stuck on the outside.”
Police released graphic photos of the shark resting on the back of a Nauset Recovery tow truck on October 15, with residents commenting that the scene looked like something out of the famous movie “Jaws.''
Owner Captain Chip Michallove outcast sport fishingtold Fox News Digital that the Cape Cod shark research team is “the best team in the Atlantic” and will investigate the cause of death.
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The great white shark was discovered on a Cape Cod beach and transported by a local towing company. (Orléans Police Station)
“It's difficult to determine exactly what happened to the shark,” he says. “Either the released shark didn't make it or it got too close to shore while chasing the seal.”
“The shark research team in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is the best in the Atlantic Ocean, and we are confident they will uncover the cause of this fatal incident,” he continued.
A female great white shark, about 8 feet long, was spotted twice off the coast of Alabama last month. (University of South Alabama)
The Atlantic Great White Shark Conservancy shared in a social media post that they performed a necropsy on the shark on October 16th.
The shark was first spotted in 2022 and named a koala, the organization said. The predator was a 12-foot-long adult male great white shark.
“There is no clear indication as to how or why the koala died,” the group said. “Further tests will be required to determine the cause of death.”
The Atlantic Great White Shark Conservation Group said they had performed a necropsy on the shark. (Atlantic Great White Shark Conservation Group)
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Michalov agreed with the Atlantic great white shark conservation group's analysis and said the shark may have run aground on the shore while chasing a seal.
He said the Atlantic great white population is concentrated in summer in Canada and New England.
“It reminds me of great white sharks in the Atlantic Ocean. They live in huge schools. They don't go to school together, but they're concentrated in Canada and New England.”
Michalov noted that sharks migrate south to warmer waters in the fall.
A great white shark was found washed up in the town of Orleans, Massachusetts. (Atlantic Great White Shark Conservation Group)
Michalov marveled at the size of the great white shark, saying: “It was huge.”
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Shark experts noted that the predator had a cut along its jawline that could have been caused by a hook.
“The corner of the jaw, there's some trauma there,” he said. “It could have been from the hook or the sand. The pictures are fuzzy, but there's definitely some trauma there.”
Chip Michallove and Shark Reeves of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. (Chip Mikalove)
Michalob said shark conservation efforts over the past 30 years have been successful.
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“The good news is that this species is very healthy. There are much more of it now than there were 30 years ago,” he said. “It's terrible to lose this size, but there are so many of them, especially on this beach.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Orleans Police Department and the Atlantic Great White Shark Conservancy for comment.
