- Juvenile great white was vandalized after washing up in Monterey Bay Thursday
- Vandals hacked off 10-foot-long shark’s dorsal fin and removed most of its teeth
- It is illegal to tamper with a shark specimen in California, authorities said
- Officials said they believe the shark died after colliding with a boat’s propellor
- A necropsy examine will be conducted this week to determine cause of death
The body of a great white shark was vandalized hours afer it washed ashore a beach in California on Thursday.
Experts said the vandals hacked off the juvenile shark’s dorsal fin and removed most of its teeth hours after it washed up in Monterey Bay.
The 10-foot-long shark’s body was initially spotted by surfers and homeowners near 26th Avenue in Live Oak on Thursday evening, according to SF Gate.
But by the time officials from the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation (PSRF) arrived at the scene, the shark’s body had been swept back to sea. It resurfaced early Friday morning.
The body of a great white shark was vandalized hours afer it washed ashore a beach in California on Thursday. Experts said the vandals hacked off the shark’s dorsal fin and removed most of its teeth (pictured with wildlife officials) hours after it washed up in Monterey Bay
Van Sommeran, the director of PSRF, told the news site that tampering with a shark specimen is illegal in California.
He said he believes the vandals wanted a shark souvenir and were not poachers trying to sell the shark’s body parts.
‘As a researcher and conservationist, that’s valuable data,’ he said, referring to the dorsal fin.
Sommeran said that authorities have leads on the identities of the suspects, but he couldn’t provide any more information.
A necropsy examine will be conducted this week at the Western Ecological Research Center to determine the exact cause of death.
Sommeran said he believes the shark collided with a boat because of what appeared to be propellor cuts on its body.
He said the incident is ‘a very rare occurrence in Santa Cruz’ and it’s happened twice already this year.
A female great white shark washed up on a Santa Cruz beach in April this year. That particular incident marked the first white shark stranding in Monterey Bay since 2001.
Van Sommeran, the director of the the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation, said tampering with a shark specimen is illegal in California. Authorities have leads on the identities of the suspects. Pictured is another angle showing where the shark’s dorsal fin was removed