Pool owners are used to dealing with unwelcome visitors, from algae to ducks. Sharks are rarely an issue.
But a live five-foot blacktip shark was found last week in the pool of the Mariner’s Cay condominium in Hypoluxo, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Nicole Bonk, a neighbor who was visiting friends at the condo, said she saw two boys, who were apparently back from fishing, dump the shark in the pool. She said she and her husband removed it from the pool while it was alive and placed it in the Intracoastal Waterway. But she said it was in poor shape and appeared unlikely to survive.
Video surveillance cameras were found around the pool area. The incident is under investigation.
Blacktip sharks are among the most common species in coastal South Florida. They are responsible for a large number of bites, typically unintentional incidents in murky water in which they mistake a hand or foot for a fish.
dfleshler@sunsentinel.com, 954-356-4535.
