The 4.4-metre basking shark stranded alive in the shallow waters of Filey beach, UK. By the time the rescue team of the British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) arrived at the scene, a large crowd had already gathered to guide the animal back into the water. Together with the local coastguard, they managed to refloat the animal as the tide came in.
However, the young male seemed to be struggling “as it was listing consistently over to its right-hand side and circling in the shallows, sometimes needing support from the rescuers.” After several refloating attempt that ended in the shark restranding itself on the shallow beach, the animal was finally put to sleep by a vet. Its behaviour indicated that it might have been weak, unwell or even suffered some brain damage due to the lack of oxygen during life stranding.
Basking sharks are listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List. Though they are the second largest fish after the whale shark, they are no danger to people as they only feed on plankton.
The full article can be found here: https://news.sky.com/story/north-yorkshire-basking-shark-stranded-off-filey-beach-put-down-after-failed-rescue-effort-12035244
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