A 2m shark who was a regular tourist attraction at a Spanish beach died on Aug. 22. That's just two days after it was taken to the Barcelona aquarium.
Scientists had said they had not expected the female sandbar shark to survive because it stopped swimming after being brought to the aquarium and needed help from divers to keep moving. And sharks need to move to breathe.
An autopsy was being done to see why the shark died, the aquarium said. The first tests showed the shark had died because of a 7cm hook caught in its esophagus.
Scientists captured the 90kg fish in knee-high water at a beach called Miracle in northeast Tarragona province. They grabbed it with their bare hands and dragged it ashore.
The shark first turned up early last week and became popular. It liked to swim in shallow water where everyone could see it.
The beach was closed to swimmers.
After the shark was taken to the aquarium, scientists saw its fin had been hit by a harpoon. It had some kind of internal problem, maybe from swallowing something.(Staff Writer, with AFP)
1. tourist attraction n. phr.
觀光勝地 (guan1 guang1 sheng4 di4)
例: Taipei 101 is Taipei's biggest tourist attraction.
2. aquarium n.
水族箱 (shui3 zu2 xiang1)
例: My dad has had an aquarium for 30 straight years.
3. autopsy n.
屍體解剖 (shi1 ti3 jie2 pou3)
例: We didn't know why grandpa died until the autopsy was done.
4. esophagus n.
食道 (shi2 dao4)
例: If food gets stuck in your esophagus, you can choke.