Celebrity shark dies in Barcelona

Taronga province in the northeast of Spain has been host to a regular visitor for a couple of weeks now, a visitor who draws tourists from near and far to come and see it. The daily visitor is a 7-foot female sandbar shark, for whatever reason, whether it’s the hope of a free meal or sheer exhibitionism, would swim close enough to the shore for everyone to get a good look.

Unfortunately, the beautiful specimen met an untimely end yesterday after it was brought to the Barcelona Aquarium after it received a fatal injury. Biologists dragged the 200-pound shark form the waters by hand to transport it to Barcelona. The shark was not expected to survive after its arrival, as doctors and biologists had to help the shark swim so it could continue breathing.

The cause of death will be determined when an autopsy is performed, but already biologists have said the dorsal fin had been punctured with a harpoon and preliminary tests have shown the shark has swallowed a large hook and it became lodged in its esophagus.