WELLFLEET, MASS. (WHDH) - Lifeguards on Cape Cod recently made a shocking discovery when they stumbled upon the huge spinal column of a great white shark.
Crews performing a morning sweep at Newcomb Hollow Beach in Wellfleet found the shark’s spine in the sand on Sept. 24, just days after Hurricane Teddy passed off the Massachusetts coast, according to Wellfleet Lifeguards.
“We typically find a lot of interesting things after storms, washed up or uncovered,” co-head lifeguard Suzy Blake told 7News. “This is the first time we found something of this nature that was preserved like this.”
The lifeguards later consulted with marine scientists, who concluded that the spinal column likely belonged to a “pretty large” great white.
“We’re sorry this guy had to perish, but happy that he (or she) left a little something behind as a message from the past about his (or her) visit to the Wellfleet beaches,” Wellfleet Lifeguards said in a Facebook post.
Scientists plan to take samples of the spine but the lifeguard who found it will likely be able to keep it.
There were dozens of shark sightings off Cape Cod over the summer, many of which were recorded off of Wellfleet.
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