Massachusetts police had to call in a tow truck to remove a giant great white shark after it washed up dead on a beach in Cape Cod. It remains unclear how the 12 ft (3.6m) shark died, local officials say, but they have been able to identify the animal.

A local towing company in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, was enlisted by local police to transport a massive great white shark that had washed up on a local beach.

There are no obvious signs of how or why a shark that washed up on a Cape Cod beach this week died, the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy said Thursday, adding that this shark had been previously identified by the agency two years ago.