Local Motion - New Brunswick

Welcome to Local Motion where we celebrate hiking, biking, camping, paddling, skiing, and exploring in Southern New Brunswick.

May 14, 2009

A Pick Up Truck with Fins

Last night a couple friends and I picked up a case of beer and biked out to the beach in West Saint John. Arriving after dark, we were surprised to find crowds of people leaving the beach. That's when we learned of the beached shark.

We got on the rock beach and split from the groups of people huddled around flashlight beams. We found a good sitting rock, cracked open a beer and looked out over the black sky. Tanker ships glowed like little cities on the horizon. The lapping surf drowned the city and left us alone on the coast. With a case of beer and much conversation behind us, we got up, shook off the sand and went searching for the shark.

Following the narrow tunnel cast by Ross's mini bike light we moved across the beach looking for the beast. When we came upon it's dark grey body we thought we'd found a whale. It's belly rose up to my waist and it was easily longer than a Pick Up truck. But dorsal fins, gills, and the vertical symmetry of its tail gave it away as shark. Sadly, but not surprisingly the head had been cut off and removed, for the jaws and teeth no doubt. It probably was a harmless plankton-filtering Basking Shark but I'm no expert.

There are beautiful, wild things in those cold Fundy waters.

1 comment:

zoe said...

I had no idea there were sharks in that Bay. Sounds like an incredible being to come across (even a headless one). Reminds me of coming across a beached elephant seal on the coastline in northern Peru, which was so mind-blowing to see so close.

Thanks for sharing Gwa!