Shark Falls From Sky Onto Golf Course

A shark has been rescued after it dropped out of the sky onto the 12th hole at a golf course in California.

San Juan Hills Golf Club operations director Melissa McCormack said a course marshal found the leopard shark writhing around on the course and brought it to the clubhouse.

There the two-foot long fish was placed into a bucket of water which was quickly salted by an employee who remembered that it would normally be found in seawater.

Cart attendant Bryan Stizer reportedly used his break to drive the shark back to the Pacific Ocean, about five miles away.

"I thought he was dead," Mr Stizer told the Capistrano Dispatch newspaper. "When I dropped him into the water, he just lied there for a few seconds, but then he did a twist and shot off into the water."

It is believed the shark had been snatched up by a large bird of prey, such as an osprey or peregrine falcon, which then lost its grip on its dinner.

Two bleeding puncture marks were seen near the fish's dorsal fin.