Beasts of the Oceans | Ginglymostoma cirratum
Commonly seen as monsters of the sea and misunderstood, they don't attack until provoked. Sharks are the beasts of the ocean and the gentle giants of the ocean too, depending on what kind of encounter you experience.
Nurse sharks are pretty contrasting to the common idea of Sharks. They are non-aggressive and do not attack until provoked. They are not territorial unless it's mating season. They also return to specific favourite spots, which is interpreted as resting according to modern day marine scientists. They have a small puckered like mouth and the mouth is lined with tiny teeth which are curled backwards.
They are found in warm and tropical/subtropical waters along the coast of the Atlantic and eastern Pacific. The younger ones prefer the shallow waters like sea grass beds, mangrove islands and shallow reefs. all the while, larger adults live in deep sea water and take shelter under ledges or reef shelves during day, as they are nocturnal. At night, nurse sharks venture out alone on food foraging missions. They are predators which are opportunistic that disturb the sediment of the sea bed to uncover prey by brushing the floor with their oral barbels.
Once found, the sharks use their mouth to create a very strong suction and ingest it. Nurse sharks feed on small fish and invertebrates. If the prey is too large, the shark either shakes its prey violently to rip it apart or performs a suck-and-spit technique to break it apart, then crushed and ground by the strong jaws and serrated (Saw-like, razor sharp) teeth of the shark. This species is ovoviviparous, meaning the offspring forms in an egg in the womb. Later hatched inside and then further resulting in a live organisms' birth. Each pregnancy gives birth to around 30 pups. After birth, the pups eat each other.
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