On the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 10, an eight-foot female sand tiger shark washed ashore at Salty Brine Beach in Narragansett.
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) found no obvious signs of illness or injury at the time of the shark’s extraction from the beach, and an investigation about the shark’s cause of death is ongoing.
This sighting comes just three months after another sand tiger shark washed ashore on Tappens Beach in Little Compton . According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), sand tigers are critically endangered, making researchers curious to learn more about these unexplained incidents.
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Are there a lot of sharks in Rhode Island?
While shark attacks and washups are rare in Rhode Island, sharks do live in nearby waters. According to the Rhode Island state parks website , there are at least six types of sharks in Rhode Island waters and scientists continuously spot more species offshore .