A 26-foot-long dying shark washed ashore Tuesday on a Long Island beach, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation said. The male basking shark, which weighed an estimated 5,000 pounds and was measured at 26 feet, 6 inches, died shortly after authorities arrived on the scene, according to marine educator Tracy Marcus of the Cornell Cooperative Extension. Marcus, who was at the beach at the time, said there were no outer abrasions on the shark, ruling out of the possibility of a boat strike, and the cause of the shark’s death was unknown to investigators.
