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Lemon sharks grow up in the waters around mangrove forests, giving them protection and a place to learn to hunt. Shane Gross captured this photograph on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas
Life
10 February 2021
Shane Gross/naturepl.com
Photographer
Shane Gross Agency naturepl.com
HIDDEN away in a mangrove forest on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas, this baby lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) will spend the first few years of its life searching for food in the small area of underwater foliage where it was born, and learning the ropes to boost its chances of surviving into adulthood.
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Mangroves are the only trees that can grow in salt water. Their intricate roots provide ideal places for fish to hide from predators – and a safe nursery for lemon shark pups, which must fend for themselves from the moment they are born. This individual, captured by photographer Shane Gross, will probably make mistakes along the way, as it learns what to eat and how to hunt.
Though adult lemon sharks can grow to 3 metres, newborn pups are only about 7 centimetres in size, allowing them to live comfortably among the mangroves. By monitoring lemon sharks for decades, researchers have found that females will return to the same place they were born to breed.
Lemon sharks are mainly found on the west side of the Atlantic Ocean, from the US to Brazil, but are classified as near-threatened due to the destruction of the mangrove forests that play a crucial role in their lives. In the Bahamas, this destruction is predominantly to make way for human settlements. Globally, more than 35 per cent of mangroves have already disappeared.
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