CSR_2 Shark tales

In the middle of a striped dolphin sighting, a strange movement on the sea surface captured our attention. A large brownish object surrounded by moving fins…. Wondering what it could be, we decided to get closer to take a better look. What a surprise, when we realised that a floating tree trunk was the desired target of a shark. The animal was rubbing and rolling its body on the tree trunk’s smooth surface. We remained astonished, trying to understand the purpose of such behaviour. Could it be an exploratory attempt to determine the possible edibility of the carcass-like item? Or a self skin grooming?

The precious consults of Giuseppe Notarbartolo, Tethys President, helped us to identify the 1.5 m long shark as a probable blue shark (Prionace glauca).

Encounters with sharks are quite uncommon around these area, and everybody was thrilled by the lucky event.                            Francesca Zardin