The Sand Tiger is considered an endangered species, so news of the nursery discovery brought joy to marine researchers.
(Mirror Daily, United States) – This week, the New York Aquarium Society for Wildlife Conservation has announced that a harmless species of shark, the sand tiger seeks refuge for younglings in New York waters. News of the discovery came as a surprise even for wildlife researchers.
The Sand Tiger is a subspecies of sharks. And even though the terrifying features remain in the family, this particular type of predator is considered to be harmless when it comes to human-shark interactions. His fierce look is given by the fact that it swims with its mouth open, uncovering the razor sharp teeth.
Because of its rather docile nature, the Sand Tiger is the perfect shark to study while diving. Unfortunately, this is also one of the reasons it has been hunted in great numbers along the years. The present situation of the species does not look good. In Australia, it has been declared “critically endangered”, and it is also on the list of concern in other parts of the world.
The Sand Tiger lives in temperate and subtropical waters. It can reach up to 10.5 feet in length, and is more related to the Great White than it is to the Tiger Shark. The individual features of this marine predator are his pointy head and sort of bulky body. The color of their skin is grey, and it may present brown and red spots on their backs. They are exceptional good swimmers.
Their diet is mostly based on fish, other small sharks, squids, and other sea inhabitants. Fortunately, there have been no reports of attacks on humans.
The reproduction rate is fairly slow, this being another reason for their “endangered” label. The female can give birth to a number of maximum 2 offsprings per year. The number would be higher if the sharks would not eat each other in their mother’s womb. Due to the limited number of Sand Tiger younglings, the species is recovering very slow.
News that the Sand Tiger seeks refuge for younglings in New York waters, just outside Long Island is nothing but great. Marine researchers have an opportunity to study the nursery, determining different stages of the development of the shark.
It is to be noted that the baby and adolescent sharks come to Long Island as to a nursery. The location where they are born is still not known by the marine biologists that study this odd migration phenomenon.
Image source:www.wikimedia.org
Melissa Gansler
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