The basking shark’s scientific name, Cetorhinus maximus, roughly translates to “great-nosed sea monster” in Greek. In reality, these placid sharks, found the world over, are totally harmless.

One of those sharks unfortunately washed up dead on a Cape beach earlier this week, as researchers responded to Wellfleet Harbor and took samples from the massive 6,000-pound basking shark.

It’s not clear whether the massive 23-foot (7-meter) animal, known as a basking shark, ultimately survived the collision. But ...

One of those sharks unfortunately washed up dead on a Cape beach earlier this week, as researchers responded to Wellfleet Harbor and took samples from the massive 6,000-pound basking shark.