A 21-second clip published on Facebook shows an unusual scene in Varadero: a motorcyclist transporting a hammerhead shark - popularly known in Cuba as "cornuda" - with the animal's tail dragging on the ground as they move down the streets.
The video, recorded and shared by Christian Arboláez, has amassed over 78,000 views and dozens of comments on social media, becoming one of the most discussed pieces of content of the week on Cuban networks.
In the recording, the video's creator, who was riding another motorcycle, can be heard exclaiming in amazement: "Look at this, man, you will never see this, a shark, a stingray. Look at that kind of stingray. Its tail is dragging."
The image of the shark - with its distinctive hammer-shaped head - being transported on a motorcycle sparked reactions on social media, where Cuban dark humor quickly made its appearance.
A user joked, "Sharks come looking for food at the beach... and in the end, they end up becoming the food themselves."
The incident occurs just three days after another large shark was captured in Varadero, in an episode that also went viral and sparked a flood of comments.
That animal ended up, according to the author of the post that documented it, "filleted."
That previous case also left one of the most shared phrases of the Cuban summer on social media: "That shark confused it with utopia," in direct reference to a recent statement by Miguel Díaz-Canel, who quoted Eduardo Galeano to discuss the revolutionary horizon.
The summer of 2026 has been marked by the presence of sharks along the Cuban coast.
In mid-July, authorities temporarily suspended swimming at Siboney Beach, Santiago de Cuba, following the sighting of an individual approximately two meters long. The beach was reopened two days later after the risk was deemed to be eliminated.
In May, a shark weighing over 500 kg was caught in Baracoa, Guantánamo.
The hammerhead shark belongs to the family Sphyrnidae and is a species found in the waters of the Cuban Caribbean. The most common variety in the area, the great hammerhead, is considered harmless to humans, reaching about 150 cm in length and inhabiting shallow bays and warm coastal areas.
Historically, shark attacks in Cuba are very rare: between 1749 and 2023, approximately 47 incidents were recorded throughout the archipelago, with 23 confirmed deaths.
The last documented fatal attack occurred in November 2017 in Guardalavaca, Holguín.
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