Nat Geo Sharkathon | '50 Shades of Sharks': Cake by the ocean? A look at the secret kinky sex lives of sharks
You may have thought that the raunchy scenes in '50 Shades of Grey' were rough, but wait till you hear about the kinky sex lives of sharks. National Geographic's annual 'Sharkfest' sheds some light on the rare behaviors that various shark species display. The documentary, '50 Shades of Sharks', delved into the shark version of rough sex.
Sharks are known to have a diverse range of reproductive methods in a group of vertebrates, alongside rays. While some lay eggs, others give live birth. Some even manage to accomplish parenthood without a partner. There are still some shark species whose reproductive lifestyle is still being researched. But no make no mistake. A shark's procreational activities, though passionate, they aren't exactly sentimental. There's no romance or wooing involved, no candlelit dinners, no monogamy, and neither is there gentle caressing. The fact is that sharks live by the "wham, bam, thank you ma'am" code when it comes to having sex and reproducing.
Male sharks sniff out ovulating females that emanate pheromones when they are ready for mating. So for sharks, sex happens when it happens and female sharks don't have much say in the matter and it's pretty much non-consensual. Scientists have also observed that female sharks tend to have thicker skin in comparison to their male counterparts. When male sharks lock in on their potential target, they approach the female sharks and latch onto their fins so that they have no means of escape. In addition, George H Burgess, director of the Florida program for shark research at the University of Florida told New York Post that sharks have to be athletic. Since sex in the water creates no friction (much like it would in space), there is nothing that holds the bodies in place. That's where the teeth come in handy.
The male remains close enough to the female's body to insert one of its two reproductive organs known as claspers (or shark penises), into the female's cloaca. The claspers of a male shark are two independent appendages extending from the pelvic fins, located on the shark's underside. The claspers are equipped with grooves that help channel the semen where it needs to go. The reason the male shark has two appendages is that it has two pelvic fins in the first place. Research also suggests that male sharks use one clasper at a time when having sex. However, on one occasion, scientists found a pair of top sharks locked belly to belly by both the claspers of the male. This, however, is uncommon.
While all this sounds painful, shark biologist Dr Neil Hammerschlag says that the sensory receptors responsible for the feeling of pain in humans and other mammals are not present in the sharks that have been studied to date. Burgess also notes that female sharks are also bigger, "probably so she can take more abuse and carry more young". For a shark, being pregnant is also a bit of a task. In about 40 percent of the shark species, female sharks lay eggs in neat little pouches, also called Mermaid's Purse, and just leave it at that. Some species hatch their eggs internally. In other species, the fertilized eggs develop further in the womb and proceed to eat any other eggs as they come down the fallopian tubes. The offsprings that are born have fully formed teeth.
'50 Shades of Shark' premieres on July 25 at 9/8c on National Geographic.