Great White shark chokes and dies on sea lion
A dead Great White shark was washed up on the shores of Coronation Beach, north of the West Australian town of Geraldton, after reportedly choking to death, according to WA Today.
The news site reported that Dr Rory McAuley, a principal research scientist, said "the four-metre (long) male shark had no visible signs of injury or disease, however it appeared the shark had a large Australian sea lion stuck inside its throat."
He also established that the shark had been fitted with an acoustic tag in January in South Australian waters, one that had been handed in to the Department of Fisheries, WA Today added.
"Such a large object may have damaged the shark’s internal organs or impeded water flow into his gills, contributing to his death. Alternatively, the shark may have accidentally become stranded in his attempts to get rid of the obstruction," speculated the researcher, who travelled to Geraldton.
One bystander, among the few that were there during the incident in the Mid-West on Saturday (July 12), recorded and posted a video of the struggling shark swimming to shore before it died.
The video, which has gone viral receiving over 108,000 views (as of 11pm on Thursday), sparked different reactions on Twitter.
This time around, the shark must have bitten off more than it could chew.
Source: WA Today
Video: YouTube
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