In a few rare cases, female sharks can be injured when males use their jaws to hold them close to their gills or pectoral fins.
Filmmaker Jalil Najafov captured footage of a great white shark with a severe scar above its gills during a dive in the waters near Guadalupe Island, Mexico, as reported by Sun on December 13. The video garnered over 26,500 views within just one day of being posted on social media.
In the video, viewers can clearly see the bite marks on the scar as the shark swims past Jalil. He explains that this could be a sign of mating coercion. Jalil spends a lot of time filming and photographing sharks in their natural habitat while providing information about these creatures and the importance of their conservation.
Erich K. Ritter and Raid W. Amin, two marine scientists at the University of West Florida, previously discovered that in rare cases during the mating season of sharks, “mating scars” can appear on females as a result of males holding onto them.
However, not all females endure such injuries, so this is not part of a typical mating ritual. Most scars are deep gashes and punctures, indicating a strong motive, such as coercion from the male, according to Ritter and Amin.
Scientists believe that in most shark species, during mating, males use their jaws to hold females around their gills or pectoral fins. In doing so, the females may sustain injuries and develop scars.
Mating coercion exists in sharks.
“The scars are exceptions. Typically, male sharks hold females very gently. While we must emphasize that mating coercion does exist in sharks, generally, sharks are not as aggressive during mating as people often think,” said Dr. Ritter.
Jalil hopes that his videos can help raise awareness about shark conservation. “About one hundred million sharks are killed each year for their fins. No ocean is devoid of sharks. Therefore, by protecting sharks, we are also protecting our blue planet,” he shared.
