Watch these beach goers save a stranded great white shark

Dozens of people at a Massachusetts beach rallied together to save the life of a young great white shark that washed ashore.
When Chatham harbormaster Stuart Smith arrived at South Beach early Monday afternoon, he found 30 to 40 people pouring buckets of water on the shark to help him breathe. "Twenty, 25 years ago, they wouldn't be exactly helping the shark," he told The Boston Globe. "They'd be harming the shark. But now every single person on that beach was trying to assist it. The people on the beach made the difference."
Smith and his colleagues tied a rope around the shark and then towed him into water using a patrol boat. When a biologist arrived, the shark was towed out another mile, where he regained some strength and was released. A tag was added to the shark, so biologists can now track his movements when he's near Cape Cod. The entire ordeal was over by 5 p.m., and relieved beach goers who watched the entire incident unfold cheered from the shore when the shark was set free. Watch video of the rescue below. Catherine Garcia
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Gandhi arrests: Narendra Modi's 'vendetta' against India's opposition
The Explainer Another episode threatens to spark uproar in the Indian PM's long-running battle against the country's first family
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK
-
How the woke right gained power in the US
Under the radar The term has grown in prominence since Donald Trump returned to the White House
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK
-
Codeword: April 24, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans