A grey nurse shark put on a hell of a show for visitors to the SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, where they got to witness the birth of a baby shark. Named Archie, the tiny male pup marks a first in the aquarium’s history, which has said that his birth is also great news for the species.
“This is a monumental milestone – not just for SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, but for marine conservation efforts across Australia,” said Ben Buchanan, Head of Curatorial at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium, in a statement. “To witness the birth of an Endangered grey nurse shark is incredibly rare, and being able to capture it on video makes it even more special.”
The birth occurred during a routine check-in to the Shark Valley exhibit, where onlookers were able to film Archie coming into the world. Grey nurse sharks (Carcharias taurus) give birth to live young, and since wiggling his way into existence, Archie has come on leaps and bounds.
Now four months old, he is around 74 centimeters (29 inches) long, a long way off his adult potential of 3.2 meters (10.5 feet). He has been moved into a special nursery pool so he can get what he needs to keep growing and will be returned to public display when he’s big enough to safely swim with the older sharks, including his mother, Mary-Lou.
“While we would love to introduce Archie to our guests, his health and development remain our top priority,” said Buchanan. “He will continue to be cared for in our behind-the-scenes nursery until he reaches approximately 1.5 metres [4.9 feet] in length, at which point he will be better suited to join the five adult grey nurse sharks in Shark Valley.”
Overfishing and habitat destruction mean that grey nurse sharks are currently listed as critically endangered across New South Wales. They are a vital component to a healthy ecosystem as key predators, making new births like Archie’s a big moment for the species.
One reason witnessing a grey nurse shark birth is so incredibly rare lies in their unusual reproductive process. These sharks have the lowest reproductive rate of any shark species, with females giving birth only once every two years.
They also have two uteri, so can carry and give birth to two pups at once, with one in each uterus. That is, unless intrauterine cannibalism occurs, and one sibling eats the other.
This kind of cannibalism is how the mighty megalodon was able to give birth to pups nearly four meters long. While Archie may be tiny in comparison, his birth marks a huge milestone for his species, and he’s become the star of an incredibly rare video as a result.
