Forklift called in to remove 24-foot shark from UK beach

A forklift was needed to remove a massive 24-foot (7.3m) shark after it washed up on a United Kingdom beach.

The body of a basking shark* — the second-largest living fish in the sea — was seen swaying up and down in the waters off Maidens Beach in Scotland on Sunday, the New York Post reported.

Onlookers first thought the animal was a whale but animal research and rescue groups identified it as a shark.

Beach-goer Yolanda McCall, said it was difficult to tell if the marine animal was still alive from the shore.

“The creature was bobbing around in the water and we couldn’t tell if it was dead or alive,” she told media outlet What’s The Jam.

“I wanted to try to help it, if it was alive and floundering*, so I put on a wetsuit and got in the water to check.”

But when she got closer, she realised it was no longer alive.

“It was tangled in a long loop of rope, in its mouth and caught around its tail,” Ms McCall said.

Ms McCall contacted UK animal rescue services British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDLMR) and Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) teams for help.

After the carcass* washed up onto the sand, teams used a forklift to pick up the big fish and haul it off the beach.

“After the tide went out, we could see the full beautiful big creature,” Ms McCall said. “[It was] very sad.”

Basking sharks can reach up to 30 feet in length. While their massive size might make them look scary, the filter feeding* sharks are harmless to humans and other fish and only dine on plankton*.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and has been reproduced with permission.

POLL

GLOSSARY

• basking shark: the second largest shark in the world, behind the whale shark. Like the whale shark, the basking shark feeds on plankton using gill rakers
• floundering: moving about in the water clumsily and with difficulty
• carcass: dead body
• plankton: tiny organisms that drift in water
• filter feeding: eating plankton by filtering it from the water

EXTRA READING
Giant, smelly fish draws a crowd
Mystery surrounds half-eaten great white shark
Fishermen help free a shark in need

QUICK QUIZ
1. What type of shark washed up on the UK beach?
2. How long was the shark?
3. How is the shark thought to have died?
4. What length does this species of shark grow to?
5. Why are these particular sharks considered harmless to humans?

LISTEN TO THIS STORY

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What if?
What do you think would have happened if Yolanda found the shark still alive? Write a Kids News story about it.

Time: allow at least 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension
We think of sharks being predators of the ocean, but what do you think are the threats to sharks? Use information in the story, your own ideas and possibly your research skills to write a list of the threats. Next to each threat, write a paragraph explaining the threat and some ideas about what can be done to protect sharks from it.

Time: allow at least 45 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Geography, Science

VCOP ACTIVITY
Imaginative dialogue
Imagine you were there during the event being discussed in the article, or for the interview.

Create a conversation between two characters from the article – you may need or want to include yourself as one of the characters. Don’t forget to try to use facts and details from the article to help make your dialogue as realistic as possible.

Go through your writing and highlight any punctuation you have used in green. Make sure you carefully check the punctuation used for the dialogue and ensure you have opened and closed the speaking in the correct places.