A warning has been issued to beachgoers in Marcoola, Australia to not touch any dead sharks that wash ashore. The reason for the warning is that pictures of a woman straddling a dead shark have made it around the internet, according to Sunshine Coast Daily. At least the picture was not a selfie.
Kate Wilson, the Underwater World Sea Life Mooloolaba fishes curator, issued the warning to beachgoers after seeing the pictures. The shark that is in the photos is thought to be a bronze whaler and is was found dead on Marcoola Beach this week.
Chris Atkinson, a resident of Marcoola, took his children to the beach to see the shark.
“Two of them weren’t game enough to get close. It still looked alive,” he said. “I think everyone was surprised to see a shark that big wash up here.”
Wilson said, “We believe that it has just recently died, as looking at the fin it’s not bent over so it doesn’t appear to have been dead for that long. The seasonal migration for the species of shark is in March and April, and they migrate from New South Wales so it is possible that it was migrating and possibly got washed onto the beach in high tide.”
Wilson warned against touching sharks that was ashore because they could still be alive.
The Sunshine Coast Council buried the shark’s body deep in the sand after an investigation occurred.