The Port Jackson shark was found Friday by a citizen who happened to be passing the freshwater puddle in the town of One Tree Hill in South Australia (the puddle and shark were at the intersection of Black Top Road and Yorktown Road).
When found, the unfortunate fish (sharks are not classified as mammals) was only partially submerged in water but it was still alive, though just barely. Despite being placed into a container of ocean water police said it soonafter died.
One Tree Hill is 20 km. away from the ocean and a shark in water had never been seen there. A Port Jackson shark is not large, though it can grow up to about 1.68 metres (five-and-a-half feet).
They’re only found in the ocean waters off of the south of Australia (yes, including near the town of Port Jackson). Or normally they’re only found in ocean waters.
“How the shark came to be in the puddle is still a mystery,” a spokeswoman for the Fauna Rescue group said. “It is believed the shark may have been caught earlier today and dumped, or was kept as a pet but was growing too large for its tank.”
The rescue spokeswoman joked that it had been determined the mystery shark was not there due to a “Sharknado,” in reference to a popular 2013 sci-fi movie about a waterspout that lifts sharks out of the ocean and up onto land.
