Alarmed tourists evacuated the beach at Playa Herradura this weekend after a shark suddenly broke through the surf and landed right on the waterline at high tide.

 

According to a news report published by online news daily CRHoy.com on Sunday, the shark was identified as a thresher shark, a member of the pelagic Alopiidae family. Municipal Police officers rushed to Playa Herradura, located in the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica and north of Jaco Beach, and they encountered a group of tourists gathered at a safe distance from the selachian creature, which was thrashing around helplessly on the sand.

 

The officers kept locals and tourists away from the shark to take a closer look. Witnesses explained that a powerful wave thrashed swimmers along with the shark around noon time, depositing both human and marine species on the sand at Playa Herradura. When the swimmers recovered from the thrashing, they noticed the thresher shark and promptly ran away.

 

With the help of lifeguards, the police officers were able to drag the stunned shark back to the shore break so that it could swim back to its habitat. The rescuers moved quickly as it seemed that the shark could quickly become dehydrated under the blazing sun. Furthermore, the shark had an open wound on its dorsal area, but that did not appear to hinder it from swimming out to sea.

 

One of the police officers familiar with marine biology noticed that the Alopiidae shark, which is sometimes called a “fox shark,” should not have been near the shore. The usual habitat of the Alopiidae is hundreds of meters beneath the surface, and they are more likely to be sighted near Isla del Coco. In Costa Rica, these sharks are sometimes confused with dolphins because they sometimes breach the water when they are swimming near the surface.