A nurse shark successfully gave birth this week at the Yantai Haichang Whale and Shark Aquarium in eastern China's Shandong Province.
Newborn nurse sharks are particularly vulnerable to attack from other sharks, so the aquarium staff kept a close eye on the mother during her pregnancy.
"As there have been no recorded videos of nurse sharks birthing in captivity in China, we dispatched biologists to wait for three days and nights, and at last we got it," said Zhong Chengfu, the general manager of the aquarium. You can watch the video attached to this article.
The baby shark has now been transferred into a special cage. He will eventually be returned to the large pool to meet his mother and the other sharks.
Nurse sharks, named after the way their heads resemble a nurse's cap, have calm demeanours. They are mainly found in the wild along the coastlines of the Americas and western coastlines of Africa.
They have a gestation period that lasts ten-months.
3 News / APTN