The award-winning Isle of Wight underwater wildlife photographer, Theo Vickers, shares these great photos of a wonderful encounter he had last night.
He explains,
“I had an Isle of Wight shark encounter with a lesser spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula) in the seagrass last night whilst collecting data with Laura McConnell.
“After stumbling across freshly laid egg-cases deep in the seagrass, we were suddenly joined by this inquisitive female who cruised right up to us and rested in the meadow!”
Theo explains that Catsharks are large catsharks, reaching up to 1.6m in length.
Click on images to see larger versions
He says that females will lay their egg-cases in early summer in protected and sheltered sites, the seagrass providing a perfect sanctuary for these sharks to give their pups the best start in life.
Theo added,
“This encounter is a really tantalising clue to the life of the often elusive, but diverse array of sharks and rays that live in our seas, and critically the importance of marine habitats like seagrass in supporting these remarkable animals.”
Thank you Theo for showing those of us who can’t get under water around the Island these wonderful glimpses of marine life.
Article edit
12pm 19th May 2022 – Corrected from Nursehound shark to lesser spotted catshark
Images: © Theo Vickers
