A Large Group Of Basking Sharks Has Experts Confused

Featured Image Credit: Inverse
By Sarah Sharkey

A huge frenzy of basking sharks were spotted off the coast of the northeastern US earlier this month. Over 1,000 sharks were in one place and their presence was recorded by chance. The scientists were doing routine aerial surveys in hopes of spotting any endangered North Atlantic Right Whales and stumbled upon this massive gathering in the process.

Image Credit: Nick Caloyianis, Massachusetts’ Division of Marine Fisheries

Scientists are not quite sure what these large sharks were up to, but were excited to capture the observations.  Although they aren’t sure, there are several theories as to why these sharks gather in the thousands. It is possible that they were feeding on their normal diet of zooplankton, mating, or just using each other’s bodies to reduce the about of drag while their mouths hang wide open.

Basking shark sightings of any kind are extremely valuable to researchers because the animals spend almost 90% of their time in deep water. The more we know about these species, the better we can protect them. As of now, basking sharks are a “species of concern” which means we know that their numbers have fallen, but are not to an abysmal point yet. Hopefully future sighting will continue to enlighten scientists on the basking shark’s life and lead to better protections in the future.

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