![\"Colleen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1_Oregon-Shark-Rescue-25311049268063.jpg\")
Colleen Dunn managed to film the salmon shark before she rescued it(Image: AP)<\/p>\nColleen Dunn first thought the animal on the sand at Nehalem Bay State Park in Oregon, US, was a baby great white \u2014 but upon closer inspection realised it was a little salmon sharkColleen Dunn managed to film the salmon shark before she rescued it(Image: AP)<\/p>\n
A brave mum saved a shark’s<\/a> life \u2014 after finding it struggling on a beach.<\/p>\n Colleen Dunn saw the salmon shark<\/a> was suffocating in a low tide and, despite her nerves, grabbed it by the tail to ease the animal to deeper water. The mum of three was walking her dogs<\/a> at the time of the encounter at Nehalem Bay State Park in Oregon<\/a>, but the two pooches waited patiently while Colleen helped the shark.<\/p>\n The animal<\/a> lover was determined not to let the shark die, and wrestled with her fears before carefully picking the creature up. Incredibly, she even managed to catch a glimpse of her encounter on her mobile phone camera.<\/p>\n Colleen, whose video shows the salmon shark swim safely out of view, said: “I was essentially nervous about touching it at all. I have three kids so I didn\u2019t wanna put myself in a dangerous position.”<\/p>\n READ MORE: Half of Brit parents say road trips ruin family holidays – how to avoid stress<\/a>READ MORE: Shark attack warning as common species was just ‘biding its time’ before horrific attack<\/a><\/p>\n Colleen’s fears were heightened after the death of a 40-year-old man made global headlines r<\/a>ecently. He was attacked off the coast of Israel<\/a> by a spieces of shark previously thought to have been harmless.<\/p>\n But plucky Colleen, a huge nature lover, overcame her worry because she was desperate for the shark not to perish. She said she told herself: “He\u2019s got to get to water. If he dies, at least like I did my part to help him get to the water.”<\/p>\n The mum continued: “Like, I\u2019m the type of person, if there\u2019s a caterpillar on the trail that I\u2019m hiking, I move it off the trail… Whether you\u2019re supposed to do that or not, like, I just can\u2019t be the one to allow something to die on my watch.” The animal was able to recover its sense to swim out to the ocean within 10 minutes of Colleen’s intervention, she said.<\/p>\n Salmon sharks are known for their ability to regulate body temperature, allowing them to hunt in colder waters, but young sharks often struggle with maintaining thermal inertia, making them susceptible to cold shock.<\/p>\n