? A small thresher shark was caught in Zach?s Bay at Jones Beach Friday afternoon, a day after it first sent swimmers running toward the shore.

Park officials say a lifeguard captain saw the shark in the bay while kayaking Thursday morning. Officials thought it left the area until it was spotted again Friday a few feet away from swimmers around 2:45 p.m.

By 3 p.m., lifeguards picked up the shark with the help of experts and put it in a plastic container, hoping to bring it back out to the wider Atlantic.

Experts say not to worry about more thresher sharks returning to Long Island beaches. Tim Byrne, of the New York State parks department, says they are not aggressive and are not man-eaters.

Byrne says it is very unusual to see a thresher shark so close to the shore and is not sure why it was there.

The shark was estimated to be between 4 and 6 feet long.

Click to hear more from Tim Byrne on the shark sighting

Swimmingbanned at Zach's Bay after shark sighting