How did this bull shark end up in a New Orleans neighborhood?

How did this bull shark end up in a New Orleans neighborhood?

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Now, this isn’t something you see every day. A shark was found on the street in a New Orleans neighborhood.

The neighborhood near the Fairgrounds is shocked and stunned. Why is this shark out in the road on Florida Avenue?

A neighbor, Jack McComb, said that his pet sitter took this photo of a toddler sized, two-to-three-foot bull shark. This one wasn’t alive.

“As a species all over the world, they are found in fresh water and they swim up rivers,” Higinio Covarrubias, director of Husbandry at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas said.

Massive dead alligator found hanging from dumpster shocks Uptown residents

The mystery of the shark tale continues. Aquatic experts believe that it could have started out in Lake Pontchartrain and moved on from there, going about four miles down the canal near Florida Avenue.

“This particular shark may have just swum up the canal, but on a map, it is a stone throw from the gulf,” Covarrubias said.

Fisherman reels in nearly 6-foot shark from Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans

He went on to say, “It is fairly common to find them in fresh water. When they are looking for food, and they eat just about anything, they don’t care, and they are just following food.”

Neighbors noticed the shark after recent flooding.

“If they are finding more food coming up the canal, you may see them more often,” Covarrubias said.

Covarrubias finished by letting people know that if one happens to be spotted again, to “leave them alone and let them go on their way.”

Another theory as to the bull shark’s origins is that a fisherman could’ve caught it and then tossed it on the street.

Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.

Latest Posts

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGNO.