Scientists do some awesome things. They’re kind of like a bunch of curious children, only they’ve got a lifetime of education, access to really expensive devices, and that same curiosity that drives a two-year-old to put a worm in his mouth. Recently that little tickle (along with a motive to help protect shark populations) pushed a group of researchers to do the world’s first sonogram on a tiger shark. And what they found was a lot of baby sharks.
Before the ultrasound, researchers would have to open a shark up to find out if she was pregnant or not, which seems like a bit of a waste of a good shark. “We aren’t sacrificing humans to determine if they’re pregnant,” said a scientist that worked on the sonogram. “Why can’t we do it for sharks?”
The shark they chose to look at was a tiger shark named Emily, who, based on the ultrasound results, was just about ready to give birth. As it turned out, she was carrying 20 babies, all 40 to 45 centimeters long.
And here they are with outlines, just so you know what you’re looking at.
After the ultrasound, the team put a tracking tag on Emily. According to The Dodo, when she gives birth, they’ll record where it happens so that they’re able to protect the area and aid in the survival of her babies. Also, they got to look inside a pregnant shark and see what was going on in there, which probably satisfied that curiosity itch… look how pumped the one guy is.
