"My Secret Babies" by Annie Anderson

In this blog, I'd like to share a not-so-well-kept secret, an ongoing rendezvous, which started with myself and five newborn lemon sharks back in Bimini, Bahamas June 2013.

One blistering hot day in Bimini I had time to kill, so I decided to grab my cap, shades, and GoPro and head towards the shallows just off the beach in search of some critters.

It's a beautiful walk with submerged mangrove roots reaching for the surface at low tide, crabs darting about their holes and an abundance of fish illuminated by the bright, white sandy bottom. Heaven! These 'flats' as they're known are also home to big schools of bonefish, stingrays, sharks, and even the odd barracuda on the look-out for an easy meal.

During my walk that day, I was fortunate enough to spot a huge school of bonefish only 3 or 4 meters from the shore. So, I tiptoed out and placed my GoPro under the water to see what I could capture. Enjoying the view, I stood captivated by the camouflaged, almost transparent school of fish that swayed in and out of visibility. Well, that was until my peripheral vision noticed a darker, more distinctive shadow tailing the school. It was a juvenile lemon shark, which was approximately 60 cm, so most likely a newborn, probably born within the last few weeks! We all shared a beautiful moment in this ankle-deep, 50 cm tide of water.

Now bonefish are a fair size (roughly 30-50 cm) so I was confused by the shark’s behaviour, as it was highly unlikely the shark could capture one of these guys even if it wanted to!  But then, I spotted another lemon. And another. There were five in total, all within 10-15 meters of each other, and after no time at all, they were swimming around my ankles like I didn't exist. Maybe these sharks were so young that they were simply seeking protection within the bonefish school? Were they playing the safety in numbers card? Or were they simply being social? (Link to Dr Tristan Guttridge's lemon shark social behaviour paper: http://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v423/p235-245/).

My GoPro was fixed in the shallows as the lemons appeared unfazed by its presence; if anything they were interested in it and nosed it on a number of occasions! I spent hours with them, and as the tide fell further they all slowly disappeared...

The next day, I strolled out to the same spot to find 'my babies' (now affectionately named) promptly patrolling the shallows, waiting for me, or so I liked to believe! With each day, I continued to visit them, observing their wild social behaviour and keeping my little secrets close to heart. Within the week they reduced to 4. I searched everywhere for the missing pup but as these babies have a small, rather limited home range (they don't venture too far), I came to the conclusion the barracuda’s patience paid off.

So one afternoon I uploaded my GoPro pictures to my laptop and decided to share ‘my babies’ with the Sharklab. The lab has conducted research on Bimini’s juvenile lemon sharks for over 20 years, venturing into distant channels and nursery grounds as far as the tip of the north island. Upon learning my secret (baby sharks refuging less than 100 meters from their backyard beach), they decided to catch these pups to measure, weigh, and tag them all before releasing them back into their familiar waters. It was hard seeing 'my babies' captured as I felt a special connection with them, but ultimately I know the data that these guys contribute towards shark research could go on to protect them, their buddies, their extended family and even their home, the all-important mangrove rich nursery grounds. This year, it was proven female lemon sharks here in Bimini return to the exact same place THEY were born to give birth themselves. I don't mean country, I mean the EXACT same mangrove nursery! How cool is that (Paper link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.12583/abstract)! It had been a long waiting game to prove this fact, as lemons mature late (approximately 13 years for females) and give birth to only 10-20 pups every other year. Keep in mind, science requires much more than one example of this birthing behaviour (multiple females) to have a basis for credibility.

This research also contributes and strengthens arguments to protect worldwide nursery grounds as it demonstrates how important these 'playgrounds' really are for pupping sharks and much more. Some mangroves, including those here in Bimini face being destroyed by us humans for the likes of building developments or hotels. I shared my babies for the bigger picture.

Maybe, one day ‘my female babies’ will survive and come back to these shallows to pup for themselves. I like to think so.

After weeks had passed, one day in late June I visited my usual spot to disappointedly find out that my lemon count had reduced to three. Nature’s 'survival of the fittest' motto had taken its toll. Since that visit, I walked out to my spot a number of times, relieved to see my three babies still remaining.

After a holiday to the UK, I returned to Bimini in May 2014 with my 8 week old baby and immediately took her out to the flats in search of my lemons. A year on from my first sighting and all 3 were still there, swimming around each other, in the same location just as they were when I left! Such a wonderful sight to return home to...

Just a few days after our return, I decided to walk back out and what did I find?? Another batch of babies!! I counted 5 newbies, plus my original 3! So my little lemons have some new friends (maybe cousins!)! Although research suggests that Bimini lemons hang out with sharks of a similar size (even through to adulthood), I like to think my babies are open-minded and would accept the slightly smaller newbies. :-)

I wonder if the mum of the original babies will come back next year to pup again, giving the existing lemons some brothers and sisters? Their DNA will reveal all. :-)

Well, that's it for now...I hope you enjoyed my (not so much of a) secret. I'll be sure to keep you all updated with how my 8 babies are doing! 

Annie Anderson

Founder of SharksNeedLove, Resident of South Bimini, Fiancé of Lab Director (Dr. Tristan Guttridge), Mother of Isla Guttridge
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