In an incident that has police scratching their heads, someone dumped a 10-foot, approximately 400-pound shark in the woods behind the Gorham Industrial Park.

Police do not know who was responsible for dumping the fish, but said it looked like someone drove the shark around a security gate into the woods on the back of a truck, tied the shark’s tail to a tree and then drove off.

When she got the call from dispatchers around 8 a.m. Monday, Westbrook Animal Control Officer Carolyn Ross thought it had to be a joke. “I had to check my calendar to see if it was April Fool’s Day,” she said.

Because the shark was found on the town line, police from both Westbrook and Gorham responded to the scene.

Gorham Police Sgt. Robert Mailman said they received a call around 7:30 a.m. when someone walking a dog reported seeing the dead shark lying in the woods.

After assessing the scene, Gorham police called in the Maine Warden Service and the Westbrook police.

Michael Neelon of the Maine Warden Service said he wasn’t sure why someone would just dump the shark. He said this particular shark isn’t edible, so it appeared to him that whoever caught it found out the fish was worthless and found a convenient place to dump it before it started to smell.

“This is the first time I’ve seen something like this,” Neelon said.

Mailman said this was also a first for the Gorham police. When asked about what potential charges the mystery fishermen would face if he or she were caught, Mailman said with a smile that whoever did it could be charged with littering.

Staff Writer Robert Lowell contributed to this report.

Police do not know who was responsible for dumping this 10-foot shark in the woods behind the Gorham Industrial Park on the Gorham/Westbrook line. The fish was discovered by someone who was walking their dog through the woods Monday morning.

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