Shark Discovered 100 Miles Inland

A shark found in the Central California town of Clovis caused quite a stir Tuesday.

Clovis Animal Services employees will be talking about a call that got this week for years go come.

It wasn't for a mean dog or a dead opossum. This call to this Fresno-area office was to head out to an irrigation canal after someone spotted a shark.

Clovis police said a young man first spotted a dead 3-and-a-half foot leopard shark in the water. When he pulled it out he said that it smelled like it had been dead of awhile. The find caused several people to gather around the side of the canal to see what all the fuss was about and to take some photos.

Leopard sharks are native to bays and estuaries along the California coast. Leopard sharks are abundant in Elkhorn Slough during spring and summer months, but that is about 100 miles west of where this creature was discovered. Experts say it probably could not make it that far inland on its own and that was probably someone's pet.

The animal services officers took it back to the same shelter where they take all of their deceased animals.

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