Comments on: Long Island Beaching

By: CryptoInformant 2.0

CryptoInformant 2.0 — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 03:14:19 +0000

Well, I don’t really know what killed it, but I do know that this isn’t a one-time occurence, nor indeed all that unusual – there have been strandings of Basking Sharks pretty much everywhere they live, and I don’t think this one is any particular cause for alarm. That being said, I just gotta reference the Beatles…

I read the news today, oh boy,
About a Basking Shark that beached itself.
A crowd of people turned to go,
But I just had to stay-
I saw the video.*

…Okay, I’m done. And yeah, there is a video of this thing floating around somewhere.

By: Found_One

Found_One — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 22:07:35 +0000

mothman123, There are most definately sharks on every side of Long Island. In fact, a few years back a great white was found swimming up a man made channel (canal maybe) that was quite large, but sick. Also we (Long Island) unfortunately have several shark fishing tournaments annually, including a Mako tournament, very sad. There is a bar at a place called Fire Island (the bar is called the In and the Out) which has a taxidermy mount of a large (I was told at or over 850lbs) Mako shark that was caught right at the dock in front of the bar.

By: lightdragon

lightdragon — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:24:31 +0000

Sharks are hardly confined to the tropics-and the basking shark is known to frequent these latitudes (in fact, we didn’t know it ever crossed the equator until a few years ago). And there are more than a few sharks which are known to inhabit cold waters; each and every abyssal shark, for example, and the greenland shark (that’s just off the top of my head). So yeah, they can survive-but it’s certainly an unusual occurrence to have one beach like this.

By: mothman123

mothman123 — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:32:10 +0000

I dont think sharks even survive there with the ocean tempature

By: Found_One

Found_One — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:52:28 +0000

A few strange things wash up on Long Island from time to time. Also don’t forget, one of the first few giant squid (Architeuthis dux) ever to be found on American soil was not terribly far from here (Long Island), on the shores of Plum Island, MA. So perhaps this shark was looking to avoid becoming a meal, though unlikely.

Good thing they found it the day it beached though, if they’d have waited for some time, we might have an article about some plesiosaur remains.

By: cryptidsrus

cryptidsrus — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:44:25 +0000

Pardon my bluntness, but what the Heck is happening to sea life worldwide??? Sharks, Whales, etc. “beaching” all over the place—some land animals in general starting to get aggressive/hostile towards humans—Could this be related to Global Weather Changes? Maybe Sunspot activity??? 2012??? Sigh…

By: proriter

proriter — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:58:47 +0000

No, that’s the proper latitude for a basking shark.

By: Fhqwhgads

Fhqwhgads — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:54:56 +0000

She should have said, “A 24-foot shark washed ashore on a Long Island beach today, and died a short time later.” When a critter like that washes ashore, it’s pretty much a goner.

But basking sharks are not confined to the Pacific; there’s nothing particularly strange about one being off the Long Island coast, particularly in summer when the water’s warm.

By: Squiver

Squiver — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 00:44:03 +0000

It’s not the first time I’ve heard of strange marine life in places that they shouldn’t be but then again… a basking shark in Long Island is truly a stretch. It seems unlikely it could have rounded a whole continent… perhaps it escaped from activity? I’m not sure what private collector might have the room for a basking shark but I suppose it’s possible.