Shark found swimming in Lake Erie (??!!)

WKYC-TV/Cleveland ^ | 7.30.02

[mhking]

Shark found swimming in Lake Erie

July 29, 2002

CLEVELAND -- Someone found a shark in Lake Erie, alive and well and swimming around.

A swimmer near the Edgewater Yacht Club thought he saw a fin in the water and caught the shark by the tail.

It died when he threw it up on land.

Marine experts say it was probably once a pet that was dumped in the lake.

[andy_card]

On the other hand, did they mention seeing a toupee nearby?

Hmm. Well, this was before Hoffa bit the dust. Could have been Judge Crater...

[Isadora Duncan]

Yuck. If I were swimming around and saw that in the water next to me, I'd . . . well, I don't know WHAT I'd do!

[Black Agnes]

Hey, yours is better, it has pictures! :)

[ozone1]

How about Whitey Bolger?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Why does the word "colonoscopy" come to mind?

[Hank Hill]

Now THAT is just........... well............. "erie"

[YOMO]

Mike K wrote:
From what I understand, those things are in the big muddy as far north as St. Louis.
St Louis? Sharks? ............

There they go streching the facts again.
There have been no reliable shark sightings since the mid 1950's when they created the River Des Peres Shark Patrol.
The pay scale isn't much for this stalwart group of men, but they go in harms way every weekend armed only with their cans of A-B products and bragging rights.
I believe they are an auxilary of the Yacht Club of the same name.

[andy_card]

Why does the word "colonoscopy" come to mind?

What's the matter, it doesn't look like your typical tunafish salad? Believe it or not, the Koreans eat five million pounds of those hagfish a year. Yes, the Koreans (famed also for eating dogs, rotten eggs and homeless people) are nuts.
Source: The Hagfish Page

[Delbert]

did you make that yourself?...thats pretty gross man! : )

[rustbucket]

Can someone do the Missouri thing and show me?

I can do the Texas thing and show you what we have to contend with in Texas. From Birds & Other Wildlife of South Central Texas by Edward A Kutac and S. Christopher Caran. (South Central Texas is inland 100 miles or more and SE of Austin and San Antonio). In their list of criters found in this area, they include a couple of sharks.

Finetooth shark. Carcharhinus isodon: Rare or uncomon. Periennial waterways (rivers). Generally a marine species. Occurred in rivers throughout the Gulf Coastal Plains prior to dam construction. Now restricted to the southeastern part of the area.

Bull shark. Carcharhinus leucas: Possible. Perennial waterways (rivers). Generally a marine species. If present in South Central Texas, it is restricted to the southeasternmost part of the area.

[piasa]

There have been sharks fished out of the Mississippi River near Alton Illinois, just north of St. Louis, recorded back in the late 1800s. Bull sharks, probably, since they can handle fresh water. With the locks and dams now it is less likely they can get through, but not impossible.

If you think those are scary, you should see the catfish from around those locks... divers doing inspections have been known to carry shark prods just for those.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

well, PeTA must be happy with their new diet. Wonder if Dahlmer was one of their spokespersons. Hmm.

[Cap'n Crunch]

I saw the story and the shark on the news last night, the "expert" said that it was starting to die because it wasn't in salt water. He said it wouldn't have lived very long in Lake Erie.

They were going to send the carcass for an autopsy for some reason.

Apparently it was some type of common home aquarium shark that can grow up to about 3 feet. Something like a greyhound shark??? Something like that.

[rmmcdaniell]

There have been sharks fished out of the Mississippi River near Alton Illinois, just north of St. Louis, recorded back in the late 1800s. Bull sharks, probably, since they can handle fresh water. With the locks and dams now it is less likely they can get through, but not impossible.

Ah, a good example of transitionary specie. If these sharks don't get killed off by human pollution they will likely evovle into a shark that is completely adapted to living and spawning in fresh water.

[billhilly]

I grew up on the Misissippi in Western Kentucky and never heard about this. Of course, catfish as big as sharks were rumored. I don't know if it is bull sharks, or bull sh--. It is pretty hard to argue with this evidence. I would like to take back all of my wading, swimming, and duck hunting. I don't believe I could have done it knowing this.

[woofer]

And just last week it was announced on several local news programs in the Des Moines area of Pirahna being dumped in several area lakes.

[billhilly]

That was the ugliest democrat I ever saw, excluding Hillary, but it was Jim Traficant that I referred to when I asked about the toupee. He is back in the Cleveland area I believe.

[Joe 6-pack]

Bulls frequently work there way into the Atchafalaya basin (brackish - fresh) here in LA. If I'm not mistaken, the furthest north one has been documented is Cairo, IL. I don't recall the source right off, but If you give me a while.....

[Joe 6-pack]

would you consider NOAA a reliable source?

[ladylib]

Nasty bull sharks (last year, one killed a man who swam off his dock in a canal in FL) can cross over into fresh water. Great whites can for a brief time, but they deteriorate quickly.