A dog walker found a massive endangered shark washed up on a British beach.



The two-and-a-half metre thresher shark was discovered at about 8am on New Year's Day on Par beach, Cornwall.

Teams from Cornwall Wildlife Trust have collected the body and will conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

The thresher shark is a migratory species that travels through UK waters during the summer months and is classified as endangered in European waters by the IUCN Red List.

"Initial assessments suggest that the shark had experienced significant trauma, likely caused by line-caught sport fishing," said the Cornwall Wildlife Trust."

"Bycatch remains a major threat to ocean wildlife. Cornwall Wildlife Trust urges water users to follow safe handling and release practices to protect our marine animals. "

"Huge thanks to our amazing volunteers and community members who helped move the animal safely and kept people at a safe distance. "

"Post-mortem results are pending, full results will be published in due course."