Hammerhead shark found stranded on shore with 40 unborn pups
A female hammerhead shark measuring over 4 meters washed up on the shore with 40 fully-formed unborn pups in her womb, but researchers are still unclear about the cause of her death.
Authorities are unsure about the reason behind the mother shark’s demise. The Sphyrna mokarran shark was discovered on April 20th in shallow waters near Orange Beach. Passersby dragged the motionless shark onto the beach and contacted the city’s coastal resources team to collect its carcass.
As the hammerhead shark was intact, authorities reached out to the Marine Fisheries Ecology (MFE) organization at the University of Mississippi to examine the creature the next day. They discovered 40 unborn pups inside the shark’s womb, each measuring approximately 0.4 meters. The mother shark and her pups likely died before stranding.
The hammerhead shark is classified as critically endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. While there are no precise estimates of the number of individuals remaining worldwide, researchers believe that this species is decreasing year by year.
During the examination, the research team collected and examined important internal organs, including the heart, liver, esophagus, stomach, intestines, kidneys, and spleen, but found no signs of injury or illness in any of the organs, according to an MFE representative. They also took samples from the shark’s spine, muscle tissue, and fins to analyze more thoroughly in the laboratory. The shark’s stomach was empty, which is expected since female hammerhead sharks typically go without eating for several months during pregnancy.
Although the cause of the shark’s death cannot be determined yet, MFE researchers suspect that the reason may be related to fishing activities. Hammerhead sharks are particularly susceptible to physiological stress from being caught compared to most other shark species, and pregnancy may increase the stress even more. The unborn pups will be preserved and donated to local schools to teach about the reproductive process of sharks.
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