Hammerhead Shark Is Found Dead After A Not So Smart Man Punches It To Death (Video)

In Panama City Beach, one man faces charges as he punches a hammerhead shark to death. Given that capturing or killing the hammerhead shark is prohibited, thus punching the shark to death is not a smart move.

The officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission or FWC responded to a call to report a man in October. The man was later identified as Granger Ray Wooten, 21, from Lafayette, Georgia.

He was carrying ashore a large hammerhead shark near the pier in St. Andrews State Park. The officers reported that Wooten confessed that he punched the shark in its gills, but the punches were allegedly an attempt to revive the shark, according to IFL Science.

The officers found the dead shark floating under a pier. Wooten was charged with landing a great hammerhead shark, a misdemeanor.

According to Panama City News Herald, the FWC reported that the officers were patrolling in the St. Andrew State Park at around 9 p.m. on Oct. 24 when they received a call coming from a witness. The witness said that two men had landed an 8- or 9-foot hammerhead shark and carried it to the shore.

The witness, Robert Petty, said in the sworn statement that, "The white male had his left arm around the shark's head and was punching it repeatedly in the stomach." Petty added that the men pulled the shark farther on shore before placing a small child on it for a photo opportunity.

The shark was floating motionless under the pier when the officers arrived. Allegedly, Wooten went to the officers and "said something to the effect of, 'She's just lying in the current,' " officers quoted him as saying.

However, Wooten appears to be catching the shark but denied anybody had punched it after his fishing license was checked by the officers.

The officers wrote, "Mr. Wooten then changed his story and attempted to explain to me that he was punching the shark around the stomach area to get the air out of its lungs. "Then he said, 'It's kinda like doing CPR on a shark.' I explained to Mr. Wooten that if he wanted to revive the shark all he had to do was run water through the shark's gills."