One Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) is having a rough time these days as a victim of an entanglement, most likely a result of unsustainable fishing.
It is always exciting to watch the footage collected from the Sharklife BRUVs (baited remote underwater video systems), however, it is made all that more exciting when the unknown appears. In November 2020, while watching some footage, Sharklife researchers came across a shark that they could not identify. Hoping for some help, the image was sent off to the Kwa-Zulu-Natal Sharks Board and within a few hours, we had a species name.
For years Sharklife has studied the Spotted Ragged tooth shark, Carcharias taurus during their annual breeding migration to the iSimangaliso Wetland park. For these sharks, survival of the fittest starts early in the embryonic stages of development.
It is strange to think that a large mammal such as a whale can go unnoticed for so long, disguising itself as a morphologically similar relative and evading all detection. However this is exactly what the elusive Omura’s Whale (Balaenoptera omurai) did, only being recognized as a new species in late 2003.
Is this a sand shark, guitar shark or giant guitar shark? Its not even a shark really, its a whitespotted wedgefish! The lack of research on many marine species gives way for common names to run rife leaving everyone a bit confused.
A unique shark in an unusual place: on the 20th of May 2020 a male pelagic thresher shark (Alopias pelagicus) washed up on the beach of Sodwana Bay.
For many years sharks, and other marine animals, have been the silent victims of our insatiable greed. A devastating lack of foresight, responsibility and awareness from governments and the general public has left the oceans, once thought to be an inexhaustible source, in a fragile state.
It is no surprise that people often misidentify these three species of whipray, all of which can be found along the east coast of South Africa. Available information can be unclear and contradictory due to a lack of comprehensive research on the different species.
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Sodwana Bay, KwaZulu Natal
South Africa 3974
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www.sharklife.co.za