Archives for February 3, 2015

The Aquarium breeds a large shark species through artificial insemination!

The Aquarium of the Pacific  recently announced that it is the first to be able to successfully reproduce zebra sharks through artificial insemination. More than 100 million sharks in the wild are killed annually due to human impact. Being able to artificially inseminate large shark species like the zebra shark can further research in helping dwindling shark populations in the wild. The 10-month-old sharks are now on exhibit in the Aquarium’s Shark Lagoon shallow pool. Fern, approximately 20 years old, is the mother of the two female sharks.

Fern arrived to the Aquarium in 1997. She was inseminated in September 2013, and both babies hatched from their eggs in late March of 2014. The Aquarium’s experts have been caring for the youngsters in their behind-the-scenes shark nursery. The zebra shark pups are now about 2-and-a-half to 3 feet long and are now ready to be introduced in the shallow pools in Shark Lagoon.

The 140-pound and 7-and-a-half-foot long mother zebra shark can be seen swimming in the Aquarium’s Shark Lagoon exhibit with other large sharks. Aquarium experts have been working with Fern, who is trained to come to the surface for food as well as to voluntarily participate in her own medical exams.

Zebra sharks, often called leopard sharks in Australia, are found in the Indo-West Pacific. This includes the Red Sea, East Africa, New Caledonia, Japan, Australia, and Tonga. This species of shark prefers inshore marine or brackish water. They grow to be 5.5 to 11.5 feet in length and are 9 feet long on average. These sharks are nocturnal foragers, feeding on snails and bivalves, crabs, shrimp, and small bony fishes.

Young juveniles are dark brown or black with narrow pale yellow or white vertical bars resembling a zebra’s stripes. When they begin to develop their adult features, the juvenile shark’s bars fade, becoming dots or open circular designs no longer resembling a zebra. These sharks reach maturity when they are about 5 to 6 feet in length. Pups normally hatch in about five-and-a-half to six-and-a-half months and are only about 7.9 to 10 inches when they emerge from their egg cases. Once hatched, they are immediately independent, able to swim and hunt on their own.

Zebra sharks can live about twenty-five to thirty years, but face many threats in the wild. This species is listed as vulnerable to extinction under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List mainly because of human activities. Overfishing poses a big threat, as these sharks are sold for human consumption or fish meal. Livers are processed for vitamins, and there is a large market for their fins. In Australia, where zebra sharks are not a target species for fishing, their population for that region is listed under IUCN Red’s List as Least Concern. For more information about the Aquarium and zebra sharks, visit www.aquariumpfpacific.org or call 562-590-3100.

 My son and I visited the Aquarium today to see the baby Zebra Sharks and were surprised to see how big they are.  In my son’s words..they are just really cool! Of course, we also had to see all the other wonderful exhibits at the Aquarium of the Pacific. My son just loves to see the Harbor Seals! I really can not quite choose a favorite! Although, I do love Sea Lions!

Self Disclosure: I received media tickets to see the Zebra Sharks and to feature the Aquarium of the Pacific. Photo Credit: Top photo: Aquarium of the Pacific. Bottom photo: SoCal City Kids.