A Remarkable Journey of Recovery for a Blind Shark
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Beginning in February 2023, at Nelson Bay, New South Wales, an extraordinary series of observations captured the recovery journey of a Blind Shark from a severe facial injury. These observations were made by Brian Mayes, @brian_r_mayes.
Brian shared, "Over a year ago, I found a Blind Shark with a severe facial wound. Five weeks later, I found it again, and it had recovered slightly. A year later, I observed it again, and by this time, it had mostly recovered, except for the scar on its face."
When Brian first encountered the wounded shark, its head was protruding from under a ledge, and it was continuously flicking its head from side to side every 2 to 3 seconds. He speculated that the head flicking was a reaction to the wound, possibly providing some relief.
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The wound appeared quite severe, leading Brian to wonder if it had been attacked by another shark. Given that the Fly Point dive site is within a no-take marine sanctuary, he thought that a fish hook wound seemed unlikely. Brian sent a photo to Dr Dave Harasti, @daveharasti, a local marine biologist, who commented, "Wow, that is brutal. I would say that is a fishing-related injury."
Concerned about the shark's survival, Brian questioned its ability to catch and eat food with such an injury. He also pondered whether Blind Sharks are territorial or roam extensively, unsure if he would see the shark again. This question was answered when, five weeks later, Brian found the shark again within about 50 meters of the previous location at Fly Point, with its wound starting to heal. However, the head flicking persisted, raising concerns about potential permanent damage.
A year later, during a return trip to Nelson Bay, Brian managed to find the shark once more. The wound had significantly improved, leaving only a noticeable white scar, and the head flicking had ceased.
Brian expressed his dedication to monitoring the shark's progress, stating, "Next time I'm back in Nelson Bay, I'll be looking for the shark again to check on its progress. I'm not sure how old the shark is or how many years they live for, but we'll try to monitor it from now on.”
On behalf of the Australasian Fishes Project community, we thank Brian for uploading these fascinating observations and wish him the best of luck in finding the shark again. Its recovery from such a brutal wound is truly remarkable.
Comentarios
Well done, great observations.
Very interesting and great citizen science! It's amazing how shark wounds heal and how they expel foreign bodies. A colleague highlighted this great read on a lemon shark that ingested a metal object that then entered the body cavity and exited through the wall, which took over 1-year! https://www.publish.csiro.au/mf/pdf/MF17022
Thanks so much for sharing this information.
Thank you all for your comments. @karenmiddlemiss the account of the lemon shark expelling a metal object through the body wall is simply amazing!!! @willwhite and @clinton FYI.
Tony Strazzari, aka. @tonydiver also has a photo of Scarface on iNaturalist https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/201217552
Hopefully some more divers local to Nelson Bay will find "Scarface" and upload photos to iNaturalist, so that its recovery and longevity can be tracked.
@brian_r_mayes thank you for letting us know about the observation of "Scarface" made by @tonydiver. :)
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