When you first read that scientists found a shark living in an active volcano you probably thought hot magma and a boiling, churning, reddish-orange caldera with a fin protruding from it, didn’t you? Even if you didn’t the idea is still something that might make your eyebrows lift since the thought of living anywhere near an active volcano might make anyone stand up and say “uh-uh” with a little bit of enthusiasm. To hear that anything actually lives near or close to an active volcano though kind of defies common convention of what a lot of people know about the likelihood of being able to withstand such an environment.
Well let me dim the confusion just a bit by stating that the volcano in this clip is something a little different than what you might have thought. The Kavachi is an underwater volcano located around the Solomon Islands where these scientists decided to go exploring back in 2015. As is the way of scientists they were out to find something interesting so that they could document it and attempt to make a new discovery. Well they managed to do that, but they didn’t really expect what they saw.
The surrounding environment of an underwater volcano is something that a lot of creatures, including humans, cannot tolerate due to what the emissions of the volcano do to the pH balance of the water. It becomes far too acidic for a lot of creatures to withstand, and any swimmers or divers that have approached the caldera have only gotten so far before they started to feel the effects. This could come as unbearable heat or even skin irritation thanks to the acidity of the water. And yet the scientists found something there that they’d not expected and were simply amazed by.
There were sharks living near and even within the caldera, swimming about without a care in the world. There were other signs of life around the caldera as well, creatures such as crabs and even a ray that seemed to be bothered not at all by the intense heat and acidic nature of the water. That alone was amazing simply because many aquatic creatures are so temperamental when it comes to the delicate balance of their ecosystem. It stands to reason that these creatures must have evolved somehow so that they could withstand their environment and not be roasted from the outside in each time they come near the caldera.
Watching the sharks, hammerheads, silky, and even a largely unknown sleeper shark roaming around the super-heated area was amazing simply because there’s nothing to tell just how they’ve managed to endure such a place for so long. But the manner in which they glide about shows no agitation, no reaction other than what might be deemed normal, and only a passing curiosity for the crew’s cameras.
From my own perspective and limited knowledge of such environments I have to wonder what might happen if those creatures that had adapted to this environment were to re-enter the wide open ocean. Would the chill depths of the surrounding sea be too cold for them? It’s an interesting question but I never did get an answer. It’s amazing enough to learn that something lives near a volcano.
Follow Us
