Carcharhinus amblyrhinchos

A sturdy chap with an unfriendly grin is lurking around against the current, just by the rim of the satellite reef. What does he think he's doing by fiercely swimming against that infernal current? Is he perhaps trying to improve his aerobic skills and his cardiovascular system? Aerobics...under water? Uhm, no. Perhaps is just trying to lose weight.

None of the above is the correct answer. He is in fact trying to "gain" weight, engaging in the task that nature has allotted him to: eating fish weaker or less intelligent than him. He sits there, by the rim of the reef, where the current slits into turbolent waves, and awaits, like a hungry cat, that a tired or distracted prey will end up in his mouth.

Contrary to what most people think, sharks are not ruthless predators. An adult grey reef shark lives on less than a kilogram of food per day, spending the rest of the time hanging around the reef, looking for lady-sharks, if a male, or gentleman-shark, if a female. He's everything but a blood-thirsty insatiable predator.

A grey reef shark, with an average length of 2,60 metres, isn't exactly a small shy creature, and if he dismisses the company of human divers it is only because he has no wishes of mingling with their bubbles.

During the mating season he can become quite jealous and gruff. The shark chooses a portion of territory to court the female of his choice, and he fiercely defends it from intruders. How? By doing exactly what a cat would do: enarching the back, pulling down the ears and moving jerkily around. Of course, instead of ears, he will pul down his pectoral fins.

If you happen to bump into one of these sharks behaving as mentioned above, it is a good idea to steer away quickly... Even if there are very few reports of a grey shark attacking a human being, it is not really nice to get a snout bang as a warning sign....

Especially during the month of May, it is preferable to veer off a shark exhibiting such warning "dances".

As a feudal baron, the grey reef shark is quite territorial, constantly patrolling its chosen homestead, normally situated by the rim of a dorp off between 20 and 200 metres of depth. In the shark hirarchy the grey reef isn’t that high and so its feudal territory isn't that large, but it is kept well delimited and always suits its basic needs of food and lady-sharks.

The courting pattern of a grey reef shark isn't exactly based on the rules of chivalry: a male shark will approach his chosen female shark with bites on her neck (a bit as cats do, as mentioned, isn't it?), followed by a sort of battle, often quite violent. These fierce fights seem to be the reason why male grey reef shark have...two of them (one as a spare...!). Must be said that sharks and cats differ on this point, apart from their relationship with water.

The female grey reef shark will deliver up to seven baby sharks after twelve months of pregnancy. The baby sharks will be immediately able to feed themselves on octopuses, small fish and crustaceans. Once they reach maturity, at around seven years of age, they will become territorial and chose their personal playground. Grey reef sharks can live, if not threatened, up to twenty-five years.

Like all sharks that can be found in the Red Sea, grey reef sharks are a protected species: shark fishing and finning is strictly forbidden.

I would like to take this opportunity to again remind all readers that shark fishing in the world has reached extremely dangerous levels for the health of the marine ecosystem. This is a true disaster which by some estimates is responsible for reducing the number of sharks around the world by 70%.

Go greys, go!