Description

Clovis Animal Services received a call yesterday from a man who spotted a leopard shark on the side of an irrigation canal in Clovis shortly after noon. The 3-and-a-half foot long creature apparently had been in the canal at Santa Ana and Minnewawa when a young man pulled it out, because it didn’t seem to be moving. One witness, who stopped to look at it and snap a photo, told me that it smelled like it had been dead for a few days, and said he was pretty sure it had been someone’s pet. The leopard shark is native to bays and estuaries along the California coast. It needs cool, salt water to survive. The find attracted a number of people with cameras because of its unusual nature. A Clovis Transit bus driver saw people looking into the canal when he drove by about noon on his route to Sierra Vista Mall. He saw the shark on the side of the canal when he drove back by about 20 minutes later. He, too, called in a report. Animal Services officers recovered the deceased shark and took it back to the shelter. These animals are sold in some pet stores and on-line. They can cost anywhere from $120 to $150 each.