A tiger shark has stunned Australian scientists on an ocean analysis journey by regurgitating a spiky land-loving echidna in entrance of them.
Researchers from James Cook dinner College had been tagging marine life on the northeast coast when the three-meter tiger shark they caught vomited a lifeless echidna—a spiny creature just like a hedgehog.
Nicolas Lubitz stated he might solely assume the shark devoured up the echidna whereas it was swimming within the shallows off the island, or touring between islands, which the animals are recognized to do.
“We had been fairly shocked at what we noticed. We actually didn’t know what was happening,” he stated Thursday.
“When it spat it out, I checked out it and remarked ‘What the hell is that?””
Lubitz stated the lifeless echidna was complete when it was regurgitated in Might 2022, main scientists to imagine the shark had solely lately eaten it.
Echidnas—that are solely present in Australia and New Guinea—are egg-laying mammals, have spines protruding from their our bodies and use a beak-like snout to eat ants.
It’s unclear what number of of those animals are within the wild, however they aren’t thought-about endangered.
“Tiger sharks will eat something. They’re only a scavenger. I’ve seen movies of them consuming a rock for no motive,” Lubitz stated.
“I feel the echidna will need to have simply felt a bit humorous in its throat.”
The tiger shark was unhurt after its spiky snack and scientists fitted it with an acoustic tracker earlier than releasing it again into the water.
As a part of the analysis undertaking, which ran from 2020 to 2023, scientists tagged 812 fish, rays and sharks with 10-year trackers to grasp extra about their motion and conduct.
This article was first revealed by Phys.org on 6 June 2024. Lead Picture: A juvenile tiger shark. Credit score: Albert Kok/Wikipedia.
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