“They were … locked together, and just revolving in slow circles,” Ledgerwood says, who estimates a full rotation of the sharks took about ten seconds, a movement he described as a “slow revolution”. A fisherman’s description of stumbling across the rare sight of two great white sharks mating off the coast of Dunedin is one of only two accounts ever documented. This small cluster of islands, 70 miles west of Key West and only accessible by boat or seaplane, has been an annual shark mating ground for well over a century! The Pratts, with occasional help from myself and Dr. Jeff Carrier (Albion College Professor Emeritus and cofounder of the study), have kept the study going every year for 25 years, and have observed many of the same adult sharks (identified from external and internal tags, as well as fin markings) for over 22 years. All sharks tend to practice biting as a way to get the attention of the female. We’ve been able to do this by using some fancy data-logging tags called accelerometers (you probably have one of these sensors in your hand or on your wrist right now) to document the behavior of these animals every second for days at a time. “‘Oh, Dick. ’’No scientist has ever witnessed mating between great whites,” Duffy said. This is the longest running shark behavioral study in the world. Some sharks like Hammerheads and Great White Sharks have complex mating rituals that include shows of strength and possibly dancing. All times AEDT (GMT +11). Their numbers are decreasing and there is no reliable data on current populations, so new information on breeding cycles has caused excitement among marine conservationists. He wrote a brief account of it for the department: “I have unwittingly been fortunate to witness a mating [between two white sharks]. Understanding when, where, and how sharks mate helps us understand what places and times are most important for species survival, and can also help explain their long-term migrations and habitat use. Perhaps the biggest surprise from Ledgerwood’s account was how shallow the water was, possibly due to sharks being negatively buoyant meaning they would sink to the bottom as they mated. Duffy said to help verify and add to Ledgerwood's account, marine scientists would love a video of great whites mating. Tory MPs anger over government’s house building plans, Mayors in north of England demand urgent financial support due to local lockdowns, Local leaders warn of hardship due to government lockdown measures, 100-year-old awarded OBE for coronavirus fundraising, Trump plans rally despite questions over health. His extraordinary account of the sex act emerged during a recently published 2016 interview with Canadian marine biologist Steve Crawford, who was researching great whites in New Zealand. Ocearch’s activities near Lunenberg raised some public concern about whether baiting sharks close to shore could change the animals’ patterns and pose a risk to beachgoers. Unauthorized distribution, transmission or republication strictly prohibited. “It’s hard to witness [copulation] for any species of shark. Fischer said the Nova Scotia team has heard from all the newly tagged sharks so far except for Jane, but expects to hear from her soon. Shark Week is subscription TV’s longest-running event, with the Discovery Channel running the hugely successful TV event annually for 25 years. Federal scientists had also tagged their first great white shark in Canadian waters in mid-September. ”We just drifted up, and they didn't worry. The southern waters of New Zealand attracted mainly smaller male sharks, with sexually mature females almost twice the mass. Females that skipped a year of reproduction returned to the breeding site after only a single year migration. But there it was,'' retired fisherman Dick Ledgerwood said. The Ocearch team, which includes 26 researchers from 19 U.S. and Canadian universities and labs, were in search of new data on the species, hoping to shed light on their life patterns and get scientists a bit closer to stabilizing their population numbers. ), and other tools and techniques often used by land animals. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Wedged close together, the sharks were ‘’just revolving round and round, very, very slowly’’. When they are born, great white shark pups will measure around 5 feet (1.5 meters) and weigh about 77 pounds (35 kilograms). But that may have just been broken. The testimony of a fisherman working in the frigid waters of the Otago Peninsula on the east coast of New Zealand’s South Island has shed light on great white sex in astonishing detail. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings. Remember the thrashing and rolling that I mentioned above when sharks mate? In a wide-ranging interview about what it’s like to be a Shark Week filmmaker, Mr Casagrande also foiled our grand plans to protect ourselves in the off occasion we might come face-to-face with one of the predators. From an ecological perspective, scientists cannot pretend to have a reasonable understanding of any species’ biology if they have never observed mating, Crawford says. Follow along for more updates on this expedition, including technology #FAILS, close encounters with non-nurse sharks, and how I accidentally tagged a turtle on shark expedition. 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