Rare And Endangered Shark Washes Up Dead On RI Beach

LITTLE COMPTON, RI — Experts are investigating the death of a sand tiger shark found washed up on a beach in Little Compton last week, according to the Atlantic Shark Institute.

"Big thank you to Peter Tirpaeck for reaching out on this deceased Sand Tiger shark this week on Tappen's Beach in Little Compton," the institute wrote Sunday evening. "Peter reached out to our partners at the Mystic Aquarium who immediately notified us of the shark."

Sand tiger sharks are critically endangered and have a decreasing population, so "each one is really important for researchers to gain information," experts added.

The shark is now in a freezer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and will get a complete necropsy at the Apex Predator Lab in Narragansett, according to the institute.

"The shark was retrieved in darkness before the tide could take it back out," the Atlantic Shark Institute wrote. "A true collaborative effort that all started with a call and pictures from Peter."

See the photo at the Atlantic Shark Institute's Facebook page.