Community Cares: OdySea Aquarium welcomes birth of baby sharks
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - OdySea Aquarium is celebrating the birth of four healthy sandbar sharks.
The new additions were born in the exhibit, which animal care curators say is very rare.
"They were born February 20, so they're not very old. Couple weeks," said Stephanie King, an Animal Care Specialist at OdySea Aquarium. She is tasked with caring for the aquarium's latest additions.
Two of the new sharks are boys.
"It's not happened in a lot of facilities, so it's been very exciting," said King. "It's groundbreaking, and we are still learning because this is our first time at this facility as well."
King says that the birth of these pups is exciting for many reasons.
"Usually, when animals are reproducing under human care, that means that all of their basic needs, like survival, food, all that basic stuff that is required for survival has been met, and they can actually use extra energy to reproduce and put that towards reproduction," said King.
When first born, sandbar shark pups are incredibly vulnerable to predators, so the focus was on creating an environment where the pregnant shark would feel safe, surrounded by animals that would pose no threat to her or her pups.
Over the course of several weeks, the team temporarily relocated over a dozen animals.
"This one we had to sedate. They are very strong, very fast. We had to get them sedated a little for their safety and our safety," said King. "We used stretchers to get them, and once you stretcher them in, you lift and you run as fast as you can to the other exhibit and you put them in, and you kind of have a waiting period where you watch and you make sure they are navigating the new exhibit very well, and that they are getting along with every body."
Mom is doing well, and is being housed at another facility. The pups, in the meantime, are being cared for and monitored. Staff members are trying to figure out the best way to keep them healthy and growing.
"Once we start figuring that stuff out, we'll start getting more of a diet plan set up for them because sharks are not like humans," said King.
The pups will remain behind-the-scenes until they have achieved substantial growth and maturity. "Pup-dates" on the four baby sharks will be posted regularly to OdySea Aquarium’s Facebook page, letting fans know about their important milestones along with updated photos.
Plans are underway to return all the animals that were relocated during this time to their original habitats.
OdySea Aquarium Website
https://www.odyseaaquarium.com/
OdySea Aquarium Facebook Page