In a surprising turn of events, researchers from James Cook University made an unexpected discovery during a routine marine tagging expedition in May 2022. While tagging marine wildlife off the coast of Orpheus Island, a tiger shark regurgitated a spiky echidna right in front of them, leaving scientists astounded by the rare occurrence.
A Tense Moment on the Water
The incident occurred while former PhD student Dr. Nicolas Lubitz was studying large sharks. Lubitz remarked, Tiger sharks are known as being the garbage cans of the ocean due to the wide variety of things that they have been known to eat
. He added, This one just threw up an echidna, which was quite a surprise to us
.
A Rare Sight
The echidna, specifically Attenborough’s long-beaked echidna, is known for its nocturnal and burrowing behavior, making it difficult to spot in the wild. It was startling for scientists to witness one in such an unusual setting. According to Dr. Lubitz, We were quite shocked at what we saw. We really didn’t know what was going on
.
Dr. Kristofer Helgen from the Australian Museum Research Institute later confirmed that this echidna species, named after Sir David Attenborough, was indeed critically endangered and rarely seen outside its natural habitat.
An Unexpected Menu Item
Tiger sharks are notorious for their varied diet; they have been known to consume anything from tortoises and birds to metal objects. But an echidna? That’s a first. Dr. Kristofer Helgen noted, I definitely didn’t think an echidna was on the menu
.
The Shark Unscathed
The tiger shark involved in this peculiar incident was unharmed. Scientists fitted it with an acoustic tracker before releasing it back into the water as part of their ongoing research project that aims to understand more about marine movement and behavior.
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