12-Foot Great White Shark Hauled Away from Beach in Cape Cod

If Jaws taught us anything, it’s that great white sharks can be anywhere… especially in Massachusetts, even if it was just a fictional town called Amity. 

Nevertheless, beachgoers at Nauset Beach in Cape Cod were shocked to discover a 12-foot great white shark wash ashore on Wednesday.

The cause of death for the shark remains unknown. After being first tagged by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy charity in 2022, the shark was given the name Koala. Testing that will include a necropsy and tissue samples will help determine how Koala passed. 

The local police department used its tow truck to carry away the bloody carcass. In a Facebook post, they wrote that this is “not one of our typical calls.” 

Another great white shark washed up earlier this year in the States. In March, a 15-foot shark came ashore on Navarre Beach in Florida. 

Typically, great white sharks coming ashore are a rare occurrence, but Cape Cod has become quite a hotspot for the animals, due to the rising gray seal population. 

Shark attacks on humans are very rare, though. In 2018, Cape Cod saw its first fatality since 1936. There were multiple shark bite incidents that weren’t deadly in 2012 and 2017, respectively.