"It's the first time I guess the whole town seeing a shark in real [life]," he said. "Must have been just about the whole town that come to see it." The shark is likely a salmon shark, typically found around Alaska and B.C.

It is unusual to find a dead shark. And it occurred at a time when there were many other standings of marine mammals and birds.

Along with significant seabird die-offs near Port Heiden, there have been reports of small whales and porpoises, walrus and sea otters washed up on shore.