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Working on the immediate coast comes with endless surprises. Today was no exception.

We came across this beached while conducting routine shorebird monitoring efforts at Crane Beach in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

A shy species, this animal had no intention of snacking on beachgoers. Instead, it likely cut it too close to low tide as it foraged for schooling fish around the sandbars. While unfortunate for the shark, it was an opportunity to appreciate a species rarely encountered in Ipswich Bay.

(The thresher shark is named for its unique hunting technique. With a tail as long as its body, it lashes out at its prey, creating a phenomenon known as cavitation. The rapid motion of its tail strike forms vapor bubbles that collapse with an underwater shock wave, stunning or even killing prey. It's a hunting technique as brutal as it is beautiful, a blend of grace, power, and physics.)