Given their conservation status, it’s always an exciting moment when these sharks breed.
That’s because they display a behavior known astonic immobility(TI).
Colloquially known as playing dead, this temporary state of paralysis occurs in many different animal species.
Photo: wrangel/Depositphotos
Often, it’s a defensive strategy to fool a predator into leaving the animal alone.
Mating in the shark world can be rough business.
And, in fact, gray nurse sharks aren’t the only ones who behave in this manner.
Tonic immobility has also beenobserved during mating in other shark species, including the zebra shark.
So, while it may appear strange to us, it’s all in the norm of shark behavior.
Divers in Australia captured gray nurse sharks going into tonic immobility during mating.
This paralysis is induced by male sharks who bite the females and then flip them over.
It’s believed the behavior helps keep the animals stay safe during mating.
