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Shark Beached After Choking on Moose

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A Greenland shark with a data logger on its back is shown swimming (Image credit: NRK/Armin Muck.)

A live Greenland shark washed ashore on the island of Newfoundland this past weekend with a 2-foot-long (0.6 meters) chunk of moose meat stuck in its mouth, Canada's CBC News reported.

Two locals at Norris Arm North harbor helped free the ill-fated meal from the shark's jaws and pushed the creature to deeper water where it swam away. "A couple yanks and it just came right out," Derrick Chaulk told the CBC, adding that the moose hide still had fur on it.

Before you get any ideas about an epic moose vs. shark battle, Chaulk told the broadcaster that people often toss scraps of butchered moose into the harbor from a nearby bank. Greenland sharks — which have the distinction of being the slowest sharks relative to their body size — are scavengers and attracted to the smell of rotting flesh. While they usually feed on fish, they've been found feasting on the meat of reindeer, horses and even polar bears, according to the CBC. They're also known to sneak up on sleeping seals.

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Megan Gannon
Megan Gannon
Live Science Contributor
Megan has been writing for Live Science and Space.com since 2012. Her interests range from archaeology to space exploration, and she has a bachelor's degree in English and art history from New York University. Megan spent two years as a reporter on the national desk at NewsCore. She has watched dinosaur auctions, witnessed rocket launches, licked ancient pottery sherds in Cyprus and flown in zero gravity. Follow her on Twitter and Google+.