Living shark washes up on Vlieland

A live starry smooth-hound (Mustelus asterias) washed up on the North Sea beach in Vlieland on Sunday. The rare shark is about 40" in length and is wounded on its nose. The starry smooth-hound's habitat is the North Sea near Denmark. The fact that the shark was still alive when it was found makes the find even more rare. A passerby spotted the shark and tried to push it back into the sea, but the shark kept washing back up, presumably unable to make for open sea because it was exhausted. The survival rate is not very high. The shark has been taken in by nature center "De Noordwester" so it can recover. Experts from Dolfinarium Harderwijk are assessing the shark's condition, so it can be returned to the wild as soon as possible.