A large shark stranded on Bay View Beach in Napier is likely to have been pushed towards shore by a group of orca.
A police spokesperson said they received a report of a "large shark" on the beach near Lequesne Rd, at the crossroads of Franklin Rd and Dorothy Pl, about 9.20am on Monday.
A member of the public around the same time spotted "dozens of orca playing around" further south, between the Spirit of Napier statue and Awatoto.
Joe Woolcott, a General Curator at National Aquarium in Napier, said the shark may have been "chased up to the beach by orca", but a stranded shark is an "unusual occurrence".