Thursday, December 10, 2015

Very early mating - El Niño?


Who knows - but it is definitely happening!

The whole thing, at least for me, is rather puzzling. 
Contrary to what you may have assumed, the current severe El Niño has brought us way colder, not warmer water - and with the Bulls being poikilothermic, this appears to have delayed fetal development insofar as all of the pregnant females are still sticking around for a bit longer instead of having already absconded to give birth in the river nurseries.

And the mating?
I would have thought that it would be triggered by some environmental factor - but compared to a "normal" year, the water is definitely still on the cool side, and precipitation is also sub par = I would have thought that mating, too, would have started later.
But then again, who am I to say!

This is where the males are trying to latch on with their teeth - click for detail.

Anyway, all very interesting!
And with Bull Shark numbers already climbing back to several dozen, the proper Running of the Bulls may be only a few weeks away!

 

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