‘Virgin birth’ at Chicago zoo excites wildlife experts. See the ‘surprise’ baby shark
A female shark at a zoo in Illinois gave birth to a healthy young pup despite not being around a male in years, officials said. The “surprise” baby excited wildlife experts and is now on display.
The female epaulette shark arrived at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago four years ago and, ever since, has not been housed with a male, the zoo said in a Nov. 1 news release. After reaching sexual maturity last year, the shark “began laying two to four, typically infertile eggs, each month.”
But one of those eggs was actually fertile.
The egg was monitored by zookeepers and incubated for five months, the release said. On August 23, the egg hatched, and a baby female epaulette shark was born.
Photos show the baby shark. It has a cream-colored body with brown and black blotches scattered across its body.
The shark pup excited wildlife experts because it was born through a rare occurrence of parthenogenesis. This type of asexual reproduction does not involve fertilization and is commonly referred to as “virgin birth,” wildlife experts said.
“Parthenogenesis is a natural occurrence in some invertebrates, but less so in complex vertebrates, including sharks,” according to the release.
Experts believe this is the second time an epaulette shark has had a “virgin birth” in a zoo. “The first was at New England Aquarium, where Brookfield Zoo’s adult females originated,” the release said.
Another “virgin birth” occurred in Chicago in 2008 at the Shedd Aquarium from a female zebra shark, the aquarium said in a 2022 release. These zebra shark pups “only survived a few months.”
Brookfield zookeepers said the roughly 2-month-old baby epaulette shark is healthy and around 6 inches long.
“We are happy to report that our epaulette pup has been eating well on her diet of finely chopped capelin, minced squid tentacles, and other finely chopped seafood,” Mike Masellis, a lead animal care specialist at the zoo, said in the release. “Our colleagues at New England Aquarium have been a great resource as shark pups produced parthenogenetically can be very delicate.”
The “surprise” baby shark is on display in the zoo’s “Living Coast” exhibit, the zoo said in a Nov. 8 Facebook Post.
Epaulette sharks are nocturnal animals that live in “warm, relatively shallow waters” off the coast of New Guinea and Australia, the zoo said. The sharks get their name from the “false eyespots behind its head” that “resemble shoulder decorations on uniforms.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2023 at 10:28 AM with the headline "‘Virgin birth’ at Chicago zoo excites wildlife experts. See the ‘surprise’ baby shark."
