North Carolina Shark Conservancy examined a stranded sand tiger shark in south Topsail over the weekend.
The shark appeared to be an adult female, and officials said many noticed its distended belly – and although it's possible she was pregnant, they were unable to confirm that without having performed a necropsy.
The conservancy said the vast majority of stranded sharks are already deceased by the time they wash up, and not much is done in the state of North Carolina when a shark strands.
NCSC is working to change that; the organization is in the process of securing permits to be able to remove deceased sharks from North Carolina beaches for scientific study.
