Sharks rarely seen together peacefully co-feed: Observation could help scientists understand shark ecology better

Rare video shows 12 sharks co-feed socially

Observers captured video of tiger sharks and oceanic whitetip sharks peacefully feeding together on a carcass despite conditions that posed the potential for aggression.

When a tourist ship sailed from the port in the spring of 2024, passengers probably did not expect to witness an unusual scene: sharks of two species that do not usually share habitats gathered around a decaying corpse and fed peacefully for a day. Sharks showed no aggressive behavior among themselves, either towards tour operators or to photographers who observed the event. This kind of observation can help scientists to better understand inter…

Sharks — From Fear to Fascination : The Pulse

Before dinosaurs, before trees — even before Saturn had its rings – there were sharks. The fierce predators have been swimming in our oceans for hundreds of millions of years, standing the test of time as they survived all five of Earth's mass extinction events.

Sharks surprise scientists by sharing a meal

Of the over 500 known shark species, many of these giant fish are hunters and not scavengers–particularly those found in the open ocean. White sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) ambush their prey from below and even sharks closer to shore like reef sharks are known to chase their prey into smaller crevices before eating them. Yet a small portion of the diets of most sharks still comes from picking apart already dead animals. Sometimes, these usuall…

Sharks rarely seen together peacefully co-feed: Observation could help scientists understand shark ecology better

Many sharks, particularly those that live in the open oceans, are hunters rather than scavengers. Despite this, a small portion of their diet comes from scavenging, a behavior they may engage in when the opportunity arises.

A team of researchers from the University of Hawaii has documented how two species of sharks rarely seen together, the huge ocean sharks and tigers, were gathering together to devour the remains of a dead specimen next to these islands of the United States.Continue reading...