Tourists hunting seashells on Outer Banks beach stumble upon 6-foot shark instead

A seashell hunt on the Outer Banks turned grisly for a Virginia couple when they found a 6-foot shark stuck on the beach.

It was reported Sunday, Feb. 6, at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and photos were shared on the Hatteras Island Facebook page, which has more than 40,000 members.

The consensus among commenters was the dead predator was a juvenile great white shark, which are known to reach 20 feet in length off the East Coast.

Dana Rose and her boyfriend Zack Culbertson told McClatchy News they found the carcass near Ramp 55 on Hatteras Island, and they were not completely convinced it was dead.

“When we we first saw it, we wanted to make sure it wasn’t alive and if we needed to help it,” Rose said, adding there were no apparent injuries.

“It seemed to me that the skin was peeling off of it. I could not see any bite with blood or anything.”

The couple visited the same spot the evening before, and the shark wasn’t there, she said.

North Carolina’s Outer Banks are a popular destination for great white sharks, and some researchers believe the waters may even be a mating ground for the species.

White sharks tend to gravitate toward Florida and warmer Gulf Stream waters this time of year.

Rose said the carcass was a startling reminder of what we don’t see from the safety of the beach.

“Just think, this is what swims with us!” she said. “Once we saw it wasn’t alive, we were thinking how it happened. It was a pretty awesome find and just put into perspective that this is their ocean and we are the visitors.”

Cape Hatteras National Seashore told McClatchy News park rangers “don’t collect dead sharks,” so its fate was not clear.

“Sometimes large dead animals like this are buried to prevent any human health threat issues associated with the decomposing carcass,” the park said.

The discovery was made on the couple’s last day of vacation. They live in King George, Virginia, she said.

And yes, they did find some great seashells, Rose said.

This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 6:31 AM with the headline "Tourists hunting seashells on Outer Banks beach stumble upon 6-foot shark instead."