Page 25 - Shark

haMMerhead pups
Hammerhead sharks give
birth to live young that
are little replicas of their
parents. In one litter, up
to 40 pups may be born,
with their head projections
bent back. In the uterus,
each pup is connected
to its mother by an
umbilical cord.

baby african elephant spiny babies do not hurt their Mothers
A baby elephant takes 22 months to Pushing a baby out of the birth canal is hard for any mother.
develop inside its mother’s womb, At least the spines of hedgedog babies do not poke out
which is the longest gestation through their skin until after they are born. The sharp
period of any mammal. This is not spines on the dorsal fins of
surprising since a baby elephant baby spiny dogfish have
weighs more than 220 lb protective coverings.
(100 kg) at birth. Some sharks
have a nine-month gestation bigeye thresher pups
period, just like humans, As bigeye thresher pups develop inside
although the spiny dogfish the uterus, they feed on bundles of
matches the elephant in taking unfertilized eggs. The pups have long
18 to 24 months to be born. tails—just like their parents.

(4) The lemon shark
pup, one of up to 17
pups, is still attached
to its mother by the
umbilical cord. She is
nearly 10 ft (3 m) long,
but her pups are only
24 in (60 cm) long. (5)
The pup will rest for a
while on the seabed,
then swims away,
breaking the umbilical
cord. (6) Now the pup
faces life on its own.
It must seek the cover
of mangrove roots and
hide from predators,
such as larger sharks
and barracudas. For
many years it will stay
in a small nursery area
in the shallows of the
lagoon, near where it
was born. Then it will
make exploratory trips
out of the lagoon to
the coral reefs and will
gradually spend more
time further out to sea.
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