14-foot hammerhead shark with ‘deep laceration’ washes ashore on US beach
- An investigation has been launched after a 14-foot female great hammerhead shark washed ashore on Carolina Beach, North Carolina, early Sunday morning.
- The North Carolina Shark Conservancy dispatched volunteers to the site to collect measurements, photos and biological samples before local municipalities disposed of the deceased animal.
- Experts noted the shark had a very deep laceration at the base of its tail, which would have impaired its swimming capabilities, along with fresh puncture wounds in its mouth associated with fishing gear, though the exact cause of death has not yet been determined.
- Great hammerhead sharks, which can grow up to 16 to 20 feet long, are the largest of all hammerhead species and are identifiable by their broad, nearly straight cephalofoil, which enhances their vision and electroreception.
- Globally, the great hammerhead shark is listed as “critically endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species, but it is not currently on US federal endangered and threatened species lists.
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