CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Three critically endangered Short-tail Nurse Shark pups recently hatched at the Tennessee Aquarium.
Hatched July 7, the petite pups are the product of three adult Short-tail Nurse Sharks — one male and two females — which arrived at the aquarium along with eight juveniles and eight fertilized eggs from a facility in Canada last year, according to a release from the aquarium. Those fertilized eggs hatched in 2021, but these are the first pups produced from eggs laid by the breeding trio since arrival.
The aquarium said Short-tail Nurse Sharks are found in the tropical waters of the western Indian Ocean. These nocturnal sharks look similar to Atlantic Nurse sharks but are not related. Short-tail Nurse Sharks are egg-laying sharks that grow to just under three feet in length and have been known to live as long as 30 years in human care.
Their continued breeding success is essential to creating a sustainable population for this endangered shark in human care, according to the aquarium. Few facilities have populations of Short-tail Nurse Sharks, and the Tennessee Aquarium currently has 20. Breeding these sharks will allow the aquarium to exhibit this rare and endangered shark without impacting the population.
The aquarium said its exhibition will help raise awareness of its conservation status in the wild. Lessons learned during their care and reproduction will also be used to aid other institutions with their breeding programs, and it will eventually help other Association of Zoos and Aquariums facilities with their own Short-tail Nurse Sharks.
"This is an example of how we're able to not only display animals to educate the public, but we're able to further the science behind the animals that we display," said Senior Aquarist Kyle McPheeters, who is responsible for the aquarium's shark breeding program.
The adult Short-tail Nurse Sharks will eventually find a home swimming alongside other small sharks in the facility's exhibit, but for now, they reside in an off-exhibit area that is better suited for breeding purposes, according to a release.
