Mysterious, Thousands of Sharks Suddenly Gather in One Place

Thousands of sharks were observed sleeping together to form a carpet-like formation. Photo/NESP-IMAS

AUSTRALIA - Thousands of sharks were observed sleeping together, forming a carpet-like formation on the seabed. This is not the first time this strange phenomenon has occurred in Australia.

"There were thousands of sharks, packed tightly like a carpet spread across the seabed," said University of Tasmania researcher Jacquomo Monk as quoted by Futurism, Thursday (22/8/2024).

But until now scientists have not found an explanation behind the strange behavior of the Port Jackson shark. Footage of the sharks on the seabed was taken by an autonomous aquatic robot equipped with a remotely operated camera from a government research vessel.

Amazingly, scientists from the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania say they saw sharks grouping together in this strange way in the same area six years ago.

While this is certainly an amazing thing to witness, Monk notes marine scientists don't yet know why sharks congregate this way.

Known as aggregation sites, shark gathering spots in the Beagle underwater park are quite commonly observed in the world of marine research, although no one knows exactly why they do so.

Although Port Jackson sharks had been seen in the same spot before, the team realized this time that this encounter was female-only. This makes sense because this species tends to separate itself by gender except when mating.

"Perhaps they were enjoying a local delicacy - doughboy clams - before the long journey north to spawn," Monk said.

Although scientists need to do more research to understand this phenomenon, one thing is certain. That is, this area is important for these sharks.

Misterius, Ribuan Hiu Tiba-tiba Berkumpul di Satu Tempat

AUSTRALIA - Ribuan ikan hiu terpantau tidur bersama hingga membentuk formasi mirip karpet di dasar laut. Fenomena aneh yang terjadi di Australia ini bukanlah kali pertama.

"Ada ribuan hiu, dikemas rapat seperti karpet yang tersebar di dasar laut," kata peneliti University of Tasmania Jacquomo Monk dilansir dari Futurism, Kamis (22/8/2024).

Namun hingga kini para ilmuwan belum menemukan penjelasan di balik perilaku aneh hiu Port Jackson. Rekaman hiu-hiu di dasar laut ini diambil oleh robot akuatik otonom yang dilengkapi kamera yang dioperasikan dari jarak jauh dari kapal penelitian pemerintah.

Yang luar biasa, para ilmuwan dari Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies di University of Tasmania mengatakan mereka melihat hiu berkelompok dalam cara yang aneh ini di area yang sama enam tahun lalu.

Meskipun ini jelas merupakan hal yang menakjubkan untuk disaksikan, Monk mencatat para ilmuwan kelautan belum tahu mengapa hiu berkumpul dengan cara ini.

Dikenal sebagai situs agregasi, tempat berkumpulnya hiu di taman bawah laut Beagle cukup umum diamati dalam dunia penelitian kelautan, meskipun tidak ada yang tahu persis mengapa mereka melakukannya.

Meskipun hiu Port Jackson telah terlihat di tempat yang sama sebelumnya, tim menyadari kali ini bahwa pertemuan ini hanya untuk betina. Ini masuk akal karena spesies ini cenderung memisahkan diri berdasarkan jenis kelamin kecuali saat kawin.

"Mungkin mereka sedang menikmati makanan lezat setempat - kerang doughboy - sebelum perjalanan panjang ke utara untuk bertelur," kata Monk.

Meskipun para ilmuwan perlu melakukan lebih banyak penelitian untuk memahami fenomena ini, ada satu hal yang pasti. Yaitu area ini penting bagi hiu-hiu tersebut.