Sharks
Leopard (Zebra) Shark
Stegostoma tigrinum · Cartilaginous fish, family Stegostomatidae
Finding a zebra shark on a sand flat feels like a gift: two meters of pale gold scattered with dark leopard rosettes, ridged like carved wood, motionless but wide awake, gills pulsing. It tolerates a careful diver at close range longer than almost any large shark, which made it a photographic staple across Thailand and the Coral Triangle, and made its decline conspicuous when nets emptied region after region. Thailand's Similans remain a stronghold, and Australia's east coast hosts famous seasonal gatherings. Watching one finally lift off, tail rippling like a ribbon in wind, is the quiet highlight of many trips.
Wo und wann man eines sieht
„Resident" bedeutet, dass die meisten Tauchgänge am jeweiligen Tauchziel eine Begegnung erwarten lassen; „saisonal" bedeutet, dass die Art in den genannten Monaten zuverlässig anzutreffen ist; alles andere ist ein Bonus, keine Planungsgrundlage.
| Ziel | Zuverlässigkeit | Monate | Hinweise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Similan Islands & Richelieu RockThailand | Resident: seen on most dives | Oct–May | |
| Cairns & the Ribbon ReefsAustralia | Occasional | Ganzjährig | |
| Raja AmpatIndonesia | Occasional | Ganzjährig | |
| Koh TaoThailand | Occasional | Ganzjährig |
Bester Monat auf einen Blick
| Monat | Zuverlässige Reiseziele |
|---|---|
| January | Similan Islands & Richelieu Rock · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Raja Ampat · Koh Tao |
| February | Similan Islands & Richelieu Rock · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Raja Ampat · Koh Tao |
| March | Similan Islands & Richelieu Rock · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Raja Ampat · Koh Tao |
| April | Similan Islands & Richelieu Rock · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Raja Ampat · Koh Tao |
| May | Similan Islands & Richelieu Rock · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Raja Ampat · Koh Tao |
| June | Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Raja Ampat · Koh Tao |
| July | Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Raja Ampat · Koh Tao |
| August | Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Raja Ampat · Koh Tao |
| September | Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Raja Ampat · Koh Tao |
| October | Similan Islands & Richelieu Rock · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Raja Ampat · Koh Tao |
| November | Similan Islands & Richelieu Rock · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Raja Ampat · Koh Tao |
| December | Similan Islands & Richelieu Rock · Cairns & the Ribbon Reefs · Raja Ampat · Koh Tao |
Sie verstehen
Lebensraum: Sandy patches beside coral reefs; rests on the bottom by day facing into current, hunts the reef at night
Verbreitung: Tropical Indo-Pacific from East Africa and the Red Sea through Southeast Asia to northern Australia and the western Pacific
Verhalten: A gentle, torpid daytime resident, propped on its pectorals on sand with its ridged, spotted body in plain view. Adults wear leopard spots but hatch as striped 'zebras', the source of the naming muddle between Indo-Pacific 'leopard' usage and Australia's 'zebra shark'. Swims with an eel-like wriggle when disturbed.
Ernährung: Mollusks, crustaceans, small fish, and sea snakes, extracted from crevices with a flexible, wriggling body
Größe: typischerweise rund 2.0 m; dokumentiert bis zu 2.5 m (total length, nearly half of it a long, low tail).
Wie man sich in ihrer Nähe verhält
Approach a resting shark low and from the front-side, stop outside touching distance, and leave before it bolts. Repeated flushing burns the animal's energy and empties the site for everyone after you.
Naturschutz
Endangered: inshore gillnetting has emptied much of Southeast Asia's habitat. A coalition of aquariums and scientists is now rewilding captive-bred pups in Raja Ampat, one of the first shark reintroduction programs anywhere.
Bekannte Tauchplätze dafür
Hervorgehobene Tauchplätze wurden von unseren Redakteuren für diese Art kartiert; die Zahlen sind GBIF-Vorkommensdatensätze, die seit 1990 im Umkreis von etwa 5 km um einen Tauchplatz protokolliert wurden.
Ansehen
Aus den offiziellen Kanälen
Wildlife of Monterey | New film in our auditorium
Live Aviary Cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium
Live Aviary Cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium
Videos sind eingebettete Links zu den Kanälen der jeweiligen Ersteller – wir hosten nichts und geben für alles die Quelle an.