Coral World Ocean Park Shark Shallows “Shark Pups”

The exhibit, Shark Shallows, was designed to mimic shallow water areas where you can find juvenile sharks. Female sharks swim into areas such as bays, mangrove lagoons and even estuaries (areas where rivers meet the sea) to find protection while giving birth to her new pups. Like all other animals, this is the time when she is the most vulnerable. In these shallow water areas she will find very few potential threats, making this environment very safe for her.

Once she gives birth to her pups, she will leave them behind and head back out into deeper waters. Mother sharks provide no maternal care whatsoever, but leaving her pups behind does do two very important things for the young sharks. First off, the shallow water offers protection from larger predators that don’t come into the shallows. New shark pups range in size from 9-24 inches when first born so they often end up as a snack for larger fish. Secondly, shallow water areas are also home to lots of different fish and invertebrate life giving the young sharks plenty of food items to choose from and how most effectively to hunt for it.

In our pool you will see lots of small fish swimming around. As such they serve to naturalize our exhibit, and provide a good food source for our juvenile sharks. These sharks need to practice their hunting skills while they are here because eventually they will all return to the wild.

Get up Close and Personal with our Sharks on our Shark Encounter.