WASHINGTON — Two hammerhead sharks sightings near Ocean City within a week may have many swimmers on edge, but officials say the sharks are not dangerous.
One hammerhead shark was seen near an Ocean City beach giving birth to pups late Sunday night, and was later found dead on the shore in Delaware. The other was spotted Wednesday afternoon in the ocean swimming near the popular beach.
“On a scale of one to 10, they are not the more ferocious type,” says Ocean City Beach Patrol First Lt. Skip Lee, adding that the shape of the shark’s head makes it difficult for it to pose any threat.
“Great whites, tiger sharks and bull sharks are the ones that we really want to worry about and we don’t typically see those in our area.”
The shark spotted Wednesday does not pose a threat to swimmers or beach goers in the area, Lee says. Still, beach patrol is clearing the area like it would any other item found in the ocean.
Lee says there is a concern for the shark’s welfare.
“We feel as though that something is wrong with the shark. So, we have contacted the National Aquarium in Baltimore. And, of course, we are taking care of things here in Ocean City, making sure the beach is safe but also trying to monitors its progress as it goes about its business.”
Police are reminding people in Ocean City to give the shark some space.
Officers say scalloped hammerhead shark’s condition may improve if people back off and leave it alone. #OCSHARK
— MD NRP (@MDNRPolice) June 25, 2015
The shark that gave birth to about 20 pups Sunday night was found dead on Fenwick Island, Delaware, Monday morning by Baltimore-area residents Alex Stevens and Corbin Archie, reports The Baltimore Sun.
The pair was walking on the beach when they saw a shark and noticed it wasn’t moving. They pulled the more than 100 pound shark ashore, noting that it appeared to be dead, The Sun reports.
Witnesses told The Sun they saw what they believed was the same shark giving birth to about 20 pups in the water around midnight Monday near 114th Street in Ocean City.
Candy Thomson, a spokeswoman for Natural Resources Police, says sharks generally give birth in shallow waters.
However, Thomson said the shark didn’t beach itself — it was hauled in by a fisherman. The National Aquarium, which responds to nearby marine strandings, arrived to help move the shark, but found that witnesses to the birth had pushed the shark back into the water.
Thompson told The Sun that the pups probably have a 50-50 chance of survival since “they’re generally on their own any way” after birth.
Town employees are looking into what caused the shark’s death.
Good thing I haven’t paddled out yet…. #shark A photo posted by Luke Chrystal (@chrystal_clear99) on
WTOP’s Dennis Foley contributed to this report.
