(AP) — A 20-foot-long basking shark that washed ashore and died on a Long Island beach.

Tracy Marcus of Cornell Cooperative Extension says the shark likely died from some kind of illness. There are no propeller wounds that might have come from a boat, nor are there any puncture wounds on the animal, which was barely breathing when it was first found.

In this photo taken with a cell phone, a girl timidly approaches a 20-foot-long basking shark on Gilgo Beach on New York's Long Island on Tuesday. The basking shark, estimated to weigh 2,000 pounds, washed ashore on the town beach a few miles east of Jones Beach. New York State Parks official George Gorman said Tuesday that researchers will examine the shark to determine a cause of death. After that, it will be buried in nearby sand dunes on the beach. (AP Photo/Sophia Hall)

The basking shark, which are a common sight in the waters off Long Island, washed ashore on a town beach a few miles east of Jones Beach. Basking sharks are not considered dangerous. They eat plankton.

Marcus estimates the shark weighs about a ton. She says it is unusual for an ailing basking shark to come ashore. Usually they die in the ocean.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.