Near the Nehalem Bay State Park, on October 10, Colleen Dunn had been walking her dogs when she spotted a juvenile salmon shark gasping for breath in the shallow water.
At first, Colleen was curious and didn’t realize the young shark was in trouble, but as she got closer, she noticed how the three-foot fish had been lying on its side trying to breath. It had no injuries, and it was at that moment Colleen decided to help it get back to the ocean.
In the video Colleen posted on her Facebook page, she stated she just couldn’t let it suffer and had to do something. She then pulled the shark into the tide pool by its tail, hoping to sustain it until the tide rolled in.
Moments later, she realized the tide was receding, and it was getting dark. She had to act. Colleen knew the shark would not survive overnight in the shallow tide pool; it was likely quite weak and tired from struggling, and it was time for extraordinary measures.
Although she did try to contact park officials and her husband, no one responded quick enough. Colleen lifted the shark by its tail and ran into the surf as far as she could.
I picked him up and i got as deep as i could in the water and tossed him.
Miraculously, the shark began to swim and allowed itself to be carried out deeper into the ocean by the waves. The next morning Colleen returned, and there was no trace of it, nor were there any reports that a shark had been beached.
Salmon sharks can grow up to ten feet and thrive in the cold waters of the Pacific.
Pretty cool? Colleen Dunn is a hero.
Check out the video:
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