A Greenland shark found choking on a moose was found by men in Newfoundland and Labrador, at Norris Arm North.
The shark was on its side and choking on moose hide, Clifford Harvey, one of the men, said via Twitter.
Derrick Chaulk, the other man, was driving down a road by the harbor when he saw what he thought was a whale, so he and Harvey went over.
They realized that it was a shark, and that the shark had a large chunk of moose hide–about two feet long–protruding from its mouth.
Another man, Jeremy Ball, came onto the scene, and started pulling on the chunk of moose.
The men then worked on getting the shark back into the water, with Ball tying a rope around its tail, and Chaulk getting ready to push, Chaulk told CBC.
It worked. Soon the shark started breathing again.
— clifford harvey (@cliffyharv) November 20, 2013
@centralmorning good luck on the news tip of the lucky shark who was saved by the rescuers of Norris Arm North pic.twitter.com/qiSxp3yMF6
— clifford harvey (@cliffyharv) November 20, 2013
While the situation appeared dire, a scientist said that the shark may have turned out okay either way.
The beached shark could have just been enjoying a large meal, said Jeffrey Gallant, the president and lead scientist at the Greenland Shark and Elasmobranch Education and Research Group.
After the shark started breathing again, it lay in shallow water for about 30 minutes before heading back out to sea.
“There was a few people up on the bank watching and once that shark swam out and lifted his tail, and then swam all the way out, everybody just clapped,” said Chaulk.
“It was a good feeling to see that shark swim out, knowing that you saved his life.”
