Massive 14-foot shark dies after being stranded on Massachusetts beach during migration

A 14-foot-long thresher shark died Tuesday aft becoming stranded successful shallow h2o disconnected the seashore of Massachusetts.

The New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance (NECWA), a nonprofit enactment that responded to the scene, told Fox News Digital Wednesday that the shark was archetypal spotted live astatine Mayo Beach successful Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Unfortunately, the carnal died conscionable earlier NECWA arrived astatine the site.

"Yesterday morning, NECWA received galore calls astir a perchance unrecorded thresher shark that was stranded successful shallow h2o disconnected Mayo Beach, Wellfleet, MA," the confederation said successful a Facebook station Wednesday. "Our squad jumped into enactment and rushed to the tract to effort and rescue this shark. Unfortunately the carnal died conscionable earlier the squad arrived."

Photos from the country amusement the large-eyed, slender thresher lying connected the enactment with an highly long, whip-like tail, measuring astir fractional the magnitude of its body. The shark appeared injured with disposable track-like marks connected its body. 

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A thresher shark is examined aft becoming stranded connected enactment successful Wellfleet, Massachusetts. (New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance)

NECWA noted that the carnal was already successful mediocre information by the clip their squad arrived and that a necropsy of the carnal had been conducted.

"The food that died successful Wellfleet was live erstwhile archetypal sighted but was not successful large shape," Marine Biologist and President of NECWA Krill Carson told Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital reached retired to shark biologist John Chisholm for much accusation connected the necropsy.

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A 14-foot-long shark stranded astatine Mayo Beach successful Wellfleet, Massachusetts, connected Dec. 2, 2025.  (New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance)

The enactment said strandings of thresher sharks are peculiarly communal during the colder months on the shores of Cape Cod. Carson added that the bulk of stranded threshers they brushwood are male.

"Not antithetic for thresher sharks to strand successful New England successful the autumn arsenic they are trying to navigate to warmer waters to the south," the enactment said successful the Facebook post. "Like galore marine animals, this shark took a incorrect crook and ended up successful Wellfleet's interior harbor."

A shark appearing injured dies aft getting stranded disconnected Mayo Beach, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, connected Dec. 2, 2025.  (New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance)

After becoming stranded, thresher sharks are astatine precocious hazard of dying due to the fact that they cannot tolerate prolonged vulnerability to acold temperatures, Carson said. She noted that bay h2o temperatures astatine that clip were astir beneath 50 degrees and continued to drop.

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A antheral thresher shark was recovered stranded during migration. (New England Coastal Wildlife Alliance)

"A fistful of threshers strand each play arsenic they get trapped wrong Cape Cod and are incapable to proceed their migration south," Carson told Fox News Digital. "If they enactment successful our country excessively long, past they volition go cold-stunned oregon cold-shocked and die."

NECWA is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization. Contributions tin beryllium made astatine necwa.org.