Shark and alligator on Oak Island beach as summer heats up the waves

OAK ISLAND, N.C. (WNCN) — As summer begins, some interesting sights in the surf have been spotted recently on a North Carolina island south of Wilmington.

Oak Island in Brunswick County spans nearly 20 square miles and is home to all kinds of wildlife.

As the Atlantic Ocean warms along Oak Island’s 10 miles of beach, a shark was accidentally caught in the surf last week and released.

Sharks are common attractions around the 12-mile-long island, where at least one charter takes people out onto the ocean to try to catch sharks.

Last Saturday, a fisherman accidentally caught an 8-foot lemon shark, a species that is not normally aggressive toward humans.

The shark was caught as the June strawberry was visible above the fishing pier. After catching the shark in the surf, the fisherman had a bit of trouble unhooking the fish, before finally letting it go.

And around Memorial Day, a rare alligator was filmed on the same Oak Island pier. The alligator – a baby – was spotted in clear, shallow water.

Mary Frances Barnes Rodriguez filmed the alligator swimming and floating in the waves.

Oak Island has issued shark warnings in the past and uses a purple flag on beaches to inform beachgoers of possible threats from the sea creatures.

So far on the North Carolina coast, a 14-year-old boy was bitten by a shark last weekend at North Topsail Beach, north of Wilmington in Onslow County.

Five days before the teen’s bite, an initial report of a “shark bite” was made at Sunset Beach in Brunswick County, near the South Carolina border, according to WWAY-TV. Island police later said a man was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment after being bitten by a sea creature, but authorities could not confirm it was a shark.