Big Bull's big family

By Rachael Bale, ANIMALS Executive Editor

Think about how hard it is to find a needle in a haystack.

Now think about trying to find that needle in the ocean.

That’s essentially what shark scientists in Florida have done. About a decade ago, Neil Hammerschlag came across one of the largest bull sharks ever recorded. They named her “Big Bull.” She weighed a whopping thousand pounds, and blood tests showed she had recently given birth. He and other scientists spent years searching for her offspring, to no avail—until now.

Three bull sharks captured, sampled, and released by scientists off Florida in recent years turned out to be Big Bull’s sons and daughter. It’s so incredible, Hammerschlag says, that it’s like finding a needle in an ocean. But it also portends bad news. “You absolutely should not be able to throw out a line and catch sibling bull sharks,” says Toby Daly-Engel, an ecologist who did the DNA sampling. (Pictured above, a shiver, or group, of bull sharks.)

Finding related bull sharks so easily isn’t necessarily a lucky coincidence. It means there aren’t that many bull sharks around to be found. Between getting caught accidentally in fishing gear, being targeted for their fins, and suffering from pollution that flows into their coastal habitats, bull sharks are in trouble.

That’s led to an interesting scientific discovery: As bull shark numbers decline, reflective of an alarming plunge in ocean shark populations, it seems that a few “super producer” females like Big Bull come to dominate, having an unexpectedly high number of offspring. In this case, researchers also have found a number of other bull sharks related to her.

You can read more about Big Bull and her family here and watch “World’s Biggest Bull Shark?” on Disney+ starting Saturday as part of our ninth annual SharkFest.

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TODAY IN A MINUTE

Controversy over tiger breeding report: For years, thousands of tigers for years have been held at tiger “farms” in Asia, where they’re bred and used at tourism sites and in illegal trade. But now, a draft document, funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and shared with National Geographic, appears to legitimize tiger farming—an unacceptable practice under international rules. Gabriel Fava, at the Born Free Foundation, says that the contents of the document are “grossly unfit” and “have inherent biases.” (Above, tourists watch tigers at the Hellongjiang Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin, China, in 2017.)

Tiger King update: Joe Exotic, currently serving 22 years in prison for murder-for-hire and wildlife violations, will be resentenced. An appeals court yesterday upheld the Tiger King’s conviction but said he wasn’t sentenced properly (hat tip: Natasha Daly).

Football-size goldfish: Not wanting to keep a goldfish, but not wanting to harm it either, a pet owner releases into it a lake or a river. That’s where trouble begins. The discarded pets swell, uproot plants, and stir up sediment that affects water quality, the Washington Post reports. “Please don’t release your pet goldfish into ponds and lakes!” a Minnesota city wrote in a Twitter post that has been shared thousands of times.

Happy birthday: One of the last two northern white rhinos on Earth celebrated her 32nd birthday this week. Photographer Ami Vitale tweeted an image of Najin, with her daughter, Fatu, at the Ol Pejeta wildlife sanctuary in Kenya. In 2019, scientists created three embryos from the female rhinos and a dead male northern rhino. The embryos have been stored in liquid nitrogen for implantation in a southern white rhino surrogate in the future.

Working with animals: In his new meditative film, Pig, actor Nicolas Cageplays a truffle hunter searching for the person who stole his beloved pet. In an interview with GQ, he talks about communing with his pet crow and what it’s like to share the spotlight with Brandy the pig.

Wolves gaining, losing foothold: Gray wolf pups have been spotted in Michigan, a hopeful sign that the population is growing. Researchers say two litters were probably born in the area of Isle Royale National Park within the last year, the Associated Press reports. Meanwhile, hunters have killed a third of Wisconsin’s wolves since they lost Endangered Species Act protections in January, Nat Geo reports.

INSTAGRAM PHOTO OF THE DAY

Hidden lizard: This blue-tongued lizard, being measured by a wildlife officer, was among several found bound and stuffed inside electronic devices by smugglers. The discovery, at a postage facility in Melbourne, spotlighted the horrific issue of illegal wildlife trade out of Australia. In a package addressed to Asia, the lizards inside were dehydrated and had suffered skin damage from the tape. They were given fluids, fed, and checked by wildlife experts. Many smuggled reptiles do not survive such journeys. Some are in such bad shape they need to be euthanized.

Go deeper: What animals are smuggled, and what types may be next

THE BIG TAKEAWAY

Last one standing: Minnie (above) is the only elephant remaining at the Commerford Zoo, a Connecticut-based traveling animal facility. The zoo’s two other elephants, Beulah and Karen, suffered with illnesses for years before dying in 2019. Nat Geo reports. Weak regulations meant both animals were forced to travel and give rides to children, even though they were sick.

READ MORE

OVERHEARD AT NAT GEO

Surprising superpowers: Sharks have never been able to outswim their reputation as mindless killers, which is so entrenched that the U.S. Navy once even tried to weaponize them. But are sharks really just “remorseless eating machines” on the hunt for blood? A special episode of our podcast, Overheard, hops in the water with marine scientists for a look at sharks’ extraordinary senses and unique adaptability. (Pictured, a bonnethead shark swimming over coral at the New England Aquarium.)

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IN A FEW WORDS

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THE LAST GLIMPSE

What makes a dog a genius? Well, first off, like people, there aren’t a lot of them. Second, it’s the individual animal, not a whole breed. “Talent must be something special,” ethnologist Claudia Fugazza told Nat Geo. Her recent study found breakthrough intelligence limited to stars, like the border collie Charlie, who could recognize and remember 1,022 nouns—one for each of her toys. (Pictured above, a working border collie in Arizona.) Fugazza cautioned that all border collies aren’t smart (although we at Nat Geo are convinced that all our readers’ dogs are above average.)

READ ON

A footnote (paw-note?): A half-dozen dogs have appeared on Nat Geo magazine covers, but none sold more than the 2008 “Inside Animals’ Minds” issue featuring Betsy, the super-smart border collie. See Betsy.