Wounded bull shark found in Florida

Perdido Key tourists looking for help for wounded bull shark

A wounded, six-foot-long bull shark on Perdido Key is keeping beachgoers out of the water, this afternoon.

Melissa Ward, of Montgomery, Ala., called the News Journal, in an effort to seek someone one to get the shark out of the water.

“It has a deep gash in its neck, and it’s trying to beach itself,” she said. “No one can go in the water. It’s been swimming up and down the shore for five hours.”

Ward said people have been calling around, unsuccessfully, to find someone to catch the shark, put it out of its misery and make the water safe for swimmers again.

Marine biologist Robert Turpin said the shark is not an endangered species so there is no government agency that will rescue it, although he did notify Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to at least see if something can be done from a public safety perspective.

Turpin knows of no one else who will wrangle with a wounded, six foot bull shark.

Ward said two fishermen had tried to hook it on their lines, but the shark would not take the bait.

The shark is in the Gulf in front of the Ocean Breeze West condominiums.

“The water is so calm and pretty, and I can’t let my kids go out in it,” she said.

Source: Pensacola News Journal