28-foot-long basking shark washes ashore in Rhode Island

Westerly: A 28-foot-long dead basking shark has washed ashore on a Rhode Island beach.

According to the AP, the Day of New London (Conn.) reports that a homeowner in the Misquamicut (mis-KWA’-mih-cut) beach area of Westerly reported the shark to police on Sunday morning.

Biologists with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center are expected to perform a necropsy to determine the cause of death.

The shark has been attracting curious onlookers who have stopped to take photos and touch it.

The people of Misquamicut, Rhode Island have been flocking to photograph a colossal sea creature that washed up on the beach over the weekend.

The 28-foot-basking shark will be examined by shark biologists to determine the cause of death, the Day reports.

The leviathan is a member of the second-biggest shark species, after the whale shark, but wouldn't have posed any risk to beachgoers when alive—basking sharks are filter feeders that live mostly off plankton.

According to Mystic Aquarium, which sent staff members to the scene, basking sharks are giant migratory fish that feed on nothing but plankton. They are common in New England waters.