A juvenile great white shark found stranded on a beach in Chatham, Massachusetts, was kept alive by beachgoers on Monday until rescuers could drag it back out to sea.
"There was no way for the shark to get to where it could swim, so it just kept flapping and moving over," witness Kelly Skanell told WCVB.
Reports say it overcommitted on its quest for a delicious bird.
"Last year we know that sharks were in that area, and that it got shallow and it was hard for them to get out," said Cynthia Wigren of the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. "It was hard for them to get out, but for a shark to be beached is a big deal."
Too small to get a date or a proper shark meal, this decidedly undersized teenage male great white beached itself going after a seagull on our favorite beach yesterday. Hahbah patrol got him all fixed up. A photo posted by Bobby Gorman (@bobs_photos) on Jul 14, 2015 at 8:21am PDT
The shark, a 7-foot male, was eventually dragged by rope attached to a boat driven by Dr. Greg Skomal of the Division of Marine Fisheries and Chatham Harbormaster Stuart Smith. It was then freed one mile offshore.
Videos posted on YouTube captured both parts of the dramatic rescue.
The first showed the shark squirming in a shallow pool of water. Beachgoers can then be seen splashing water on the shark using giant beach buckets.
The second, posted by the Conservancy, shows rescuers guiding it back out to sea. It was then tagged before being released.
The group also posted Instagrams of the rescue.
MA DMF's Dr. Skomal, Atlantic White Shark Conservancy and the Chatham Harbormaster revived this 7' male white shark today. The shark was beached inside the South Beach cut in Chatham, and was led out to open ocean. #SupportResearch #AWSC #CapeCod #Chatham #Sharks #SharkWeek A photo posted by Atlantic White Shark (@a_whiteshark) on Jul 13, 2015 at 3:54pm PDT
More photos of Dr. Skomal, AWSC and the Chatham Harbormaster reviving a 7' male white shark yesterday after it had stranded inside the South Beach cut in Chatham, MA. #SupportResearch #AWSC #Chatham #Sharks #SharkWeek #CapeCod A photo posted by Atlantic White Shark (@a_whiteshark) on Jul 14, 2015 at 5:02am PDT
One more photo of Dr. Skomal, AWSC and the Chatham Harbormaster reviving a 7' male white shark yesterday after it had stranded inside the South Beach cut in Chatham, MA. #SupportResearch #AWSC #Chatham #Sharks #SharkWeek #CapeCod A photo posted by Atlantic White Shark (@a_whiteshark) on Jul 14, 2015 at 5:03am PDT
White sharks have ventured closer and closer to the Massachusetts shoreline over the past few decades, with their presence peaking in September. Nearly 70 sharks were spotted in the waters there last summer and experts say that number will continue to rise as the predators follow the rebounding population of seals, their primary source of food.
"There is strong evidence that white sharks are expanding their foraging strategies to include active predation on these animals," the state's Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs says on its website. "For the first time, we have predictable access to white sharks in the North Atlantic."
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, which helped save the shark, said on Twitter people can support shark researching by shopping for cool shark-themed gear on its website.