Shortly after 12.45pm, what remains of a 300-metre line goes taut. Somewhere beneath the murky green surface of Delaware Bay, on the eastern US coast, a sand tiger shark has taken the bait of a mackerel chunk. Marine researchers at the University of Delaware haul the line towards a small boat as the shark’s grey-brown […]
Tag: sharks
“It seems to be a lively business…” Just how do sharks mate?
Sex is a staple of wildlife documentaries, to the point that the ins and outs of the love lives of a multitude of mammals, birds, reptiles and invertebrates have been revealed in all their intimate detail. And yet the private lives of fish have remained largely just that – private. There are at least two […]
Sharks have a deadly secret sixth – and possibly – seventh sense to locate prey — and it’s more terrifying than you think
Sharks have all the senses humans have – along with additional senses that enable them to detect electrical signals and vibrations in the water. Small pores on a shark’s snout, known as ‘ampullae of Lorenzini’, can detect the tiny electrical currents in the water given off by living animals and inanimate objects, such as camera […]
World Dolphin Day: Reporting unusual behavior, threats and increased protections
Nine dolphin species, and several more subspecies and local populations, are currently critically endangered or endangered, according to the most recent assessment by the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority. September 12 marks World Dolphin Day, an awareness day created in 2022 by marine conservation nonprofit Sea Shepherd to bring attention to the threats that these highly intelligent […]
Seeking swordfish, catching dolphins and whales: EU pushes to rein in driftnets
Driftnets, vertically hanging nets that drift with ocean currents and can stretch for kilometers, are used to catch large pelagic species such as swordfish and tuna. However, they have long drawn criticism from conservationists as they also capture and kill sharks, turtles, dolphins and other marine wildlife. For decades, debate has raged about use of […]
“When they use these spines, they puncture them really deeply into their attacker. They can deliver venom into the wound”
In a new study, researchers compared the features of 30 different stingray spines to find out why some break off while others remain sturdy Scientists have gained a fascinating insight into how stingrays‘ iconic spines differ across species and the trade-off between different features. “Stingray spines are highly modified scales,” says Emily Poulin, a PhD candidate […]
Petition: Protect Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks and Their Birthing Grounds in Panama
There is finally some hopeful news for one of the ocean’s most endangered sharks. Critically endangered scalloped hammerhead sharks are still thriving in part of the Galapagos, where decades of protections have allowed huge numbers to gather and survive. In some areas, so many sharks swim together they can temporarily block out the sunlight. But […]
“My fingers were trembling.” Divers were removing ghost nets in the Mediterranean, when THIS happened…
Divers believe they have recorded the first ever footage of an adult great white shark in Mediterranean waters. They spotted the apex predator during a mission to remove ghost nets from a shipwreck off the coast of the Strait of Sicily. “We, as a team of three, saw this huge shark,” Derk Remmers, a volunteer with Ghost Diving told BBC […]