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| A 20-foot-long basking short washed ashore on a Long Island beach on July 14, 2009. CBS |
20-Foot Shark Washes Up On L.I. Beach
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BABYLON, N.Y. (CBS) ― A 20-foot-long basking shark that appears to have died from some kind of illness has washed ashore on a Long Island beach.
New York State Parks official George Gorman said Tuesday that researchers will examine the shark to determine a cause of death. After that, it will be buried in nearby sand dunes on the beach.
The basking shark, which are a common sight in the waters off Long Island, washed ashore on a town beach a few miles east of Jones Beach.
Basking sharks are not considered dangerous. They eat plankton.
Tracy Marcus of Cornell Cooperative Extension says the shark weighs about a ton. She says it is unusual for an ailing basking shark to come ashore. Usually they die in the ocean.
The basking shark is the second largest member of its species, second only to the whale shark.
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