Leopard Shark. Photo by Kambiz Kamrani. 2005
The easily identified Leopard Shark is often encountered in our waters near Point Reyes, often when paddling near them in our kayaks on tomales Bay and Drakes Estero. But it is in the turbid estuarine environment where this attractive little hunter really shines. Paddling around in June and July we often see the water roiling about with tails and fins as these beautiful fish find mates and give birth.
Leopard Sharks do not rule these murky waters uncontested. They share estuaries with, among other, Shovelnose Guitarfish, Bat Rays, and the Brown Smoothhound Shark. The Leopard Shark and Brown Smoothhound are closely related and would be expected to be competing for the same resources. A study looking at the feeding habits of the Leopard Shark and the Brown Smoothhound in San Francisco Bay found that both species feed predominantly on shrimps, crabs, and fishes, but that Brown Smoothhounds hunt predominantly in rocky intertidal areas while the Leopard Shark tends to feed more in muddy areas of estuarine waters.
Leopard Shark at Point Dume. Photo by Heal the Bay. 2008
Leopard Sharks have a richly varied diet and employ several predatory tricks to secure their meals. Some Leopard Sharks feed heavily on Fat Inn-Keeper Worms, which are forcefully sucked from their U-shaped burrows. Others mutilate burrowing clams by nipping off their fleshy siphons (breathing tubes which stick out of the mud), completely ignoring the rest of the critter. When feeding on circling, densely packed schools of anchovies, Leopard Sharks have been reported to circle in the opposite direction with their jaws open, snatching up the small fish that crash right into their mouths. Their adaptable feeding behavior and appetite for several different species, undoubtedly contribute to their success.
"Jaws" Leopard Shark. Photo by Kambiz Kamrani. 2005
The Facts:Size: At birth, Leopard Sharks are 7-8 inches. At maturity males are 28-47 inches, females are larger, 43-51 inches. The maximum recorded length is 71 inches.
Reproduction: Males mature at 7years, females at 10 years. They are ovoviviparous, meaning that they give birth to live young that have hatched from eggs within the body. The gestation period is around 12 months, at which point they give birth to 4-30 pups alternate years.
Diet: Juveniles mainly eat shore crabs. While adults have learned a scattered diet of small fish, rock crab, worms, clam siphons, and fish eggs.
Habitat: Leopard sharks are found in and around estuaries, sand bars, rocky reefs, kelp forests and especially like pliable muddy bottoms where food can be found and pried out easily.
Depth: Intertidal, literally inches deep, to about 300 feet.
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ReplyDeleteLeopard sharks and sharks in general have agreed to leave me alone and I, in turn, leave them alone. I never enter oceanic waters and I have yet to see a land shark hopping across the land seeking a human to eat.
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