2024-07-08 15:39:15
(ANSA) – VERONA, JULY 8 – On the occasion of World Shark Day, scheduled for July 14, the Gardaland Sea Life Aquarium park welcomed a young male Stegostoma tigrinum, known as the “Zebra Shark”, a threatened species at risk of extinction.
The Castelnuovo del Garda park (Verona) has thus joined the European Studbook Foundation (ESF), a non-profit organization based in the Netherlands that protects the studbooks of animals at risk of extinction, in order to conserve the species.
Among the peculiarities of the animal are the pattern of its coat, which changes from when it is a newborn to when it becomes an adult: the stripes on its trunk transform into dots as it grows. In addition, the caudal fin looks like a real tail, which allows it to float in the water in an elegant and graceful way.
“Since the moment of its arrival – says Sabrina Repetto, Curator at Gardaland Sea Life Aquarium – we have been committed to collaborating on the European genealogical book of the zebra shark, which includes the current population in European aquariums and in some aquariums in the Middle East. The genealogical book of the zebra shark, started in 2007, is really important and has already allowed us to achieve positive results especially with regards to conservation, reproduction and breeding. In recent years, there has been a constant increase in the population born in captivity compared to the wild one thanks to the fact that reproduction is encouraged”.
Stegostoma tigrinum is threatened in the wild, particularly by human activity, due to the use of near-shore habitats. In natural habitats, the population is declining, especially in Southeast Asia, where this species is believed to have suffered local extinction due to overexploitation, including reckless and overfishing for shark soup. In the Gulf of Papua south of New Guinea, trawling is responsible for incidental catches of zebra sharks.
The young specimen, now already 140 centimeters long, swims in the ocean tank that has a volume of 850,000 liters, in the company of the other species already present, over 2,000 specimens including blacktip reef sharks, nurse sharks, rhinoptera. The aquarium owners are involving visitors in proposing a name, with a form to be delivered on site. The final choice will be officially communicated on July 14, on the occasion of World Shark Day. (ANSA).
2024-07-08 15:39:15