Open up and say ah

The New Zealand Department of Conservation will perform a two-hour necropsy on a 10ft female great white shark at the Auckland Museum in a live operation streamed online, reminiscent of that performed on the giant squid at Te Papa last year. Believed to be the first of its kind, the shark will be dissected and its organs investigated. “It’s very exciting, we’ve never done anything like this in front of the public before,” marine curator at Auckland Museum Tom Trnski said. “Little is known about the life history of these apex predators of the ocean, and we hope to learn more about the shark’s recent past before it came into the harbour.” The shark was accidentally caught by a local fisherman after it had become entangled in a gill net in Auckland’s Kaipara Harbour. “We’re interested in the gut content to see what the shark has eaten – it could be anything from seals, penguins, fish or even whale blubber,” Trnski said. “We’re certainly hoping not to find any human bits inside, but you never know.”