Half a shark reported on NC island ignites debate over what killed it

A tourist visiting North Carolina’s coast set off an unusual social media debate when she posted a photo of what appeared to be half of a shark.

The discovery was made Saturday, July 4, off 52nd Street on Oak Island, and Maggie Denton estimates the section was just under two feet long.

“It’s definitely not something you see every day,” Denton told The Charlotte Observer.

“I was so caught off guard! We were relaxing under our Shibumi (shade) and saw the shark wash up on shore. Everyone in the vicinity gathered to inspect closer, and we couldn’t believe our eyes!”

First responders showed up about an hour later “and buried him or her,” she said.

The North Carolina Shark Conservancy says it learned of the incident after the photo appeared on social media. “It’s definitely a shark,” the conservancy said. However, additional details have yet to be collected, including the species.

The photo was shared on a Facebook page devoted to “Oak Island & Southport Locals,” and it had amassed nearly 800 reactions and comments as of July 7.

Many commenters offered explanations, some blaming a bigger shark, and others claiming it was likely the work of a human.

“I saw it, too. Crazy! Must have been thrown from a fishing boat the way it was cut,” Katherine Jane Price Morgan posted.

“Alligator probably got it,” Eliz Covin said.

“Turns out he wasn’t the apex predator after all,” Kyler Martinson wrote.

Oak Island is about a 160-mile drive southeast from downtown Raleigh.