Pregnant hammerhead shark with 40 pups stranded.

In the US, a hammerhead shark over 4 meters long washed ashore with 40 fully formed pups inside its stomach, but researchers are still unsure of the cause of its death.

Authorities transported the carcass of the mother hammerhead shark away. Photo: MEF

Authorities are unsure of the cause of death of the mother shark. The female hammerhead shark ( Sphyrna mokarran ) was discovered on April 20 in shallow waters near Orange Beach. A group of passersby pulled the motionless shark onto the beach and contacted the city's coastal resources team to collect its carcass.

Because the hammerhead shark was still intact, authorities contacted researchers from the Marine Fisheries Ecology (MFE) organization at the University of Mississippi. The research team examined the animal the following day. They discovered 40 pups, each about 0.4 meters long, inside the hammerhead shark's stomach. The mother shark and her pups likely died before becoming stranded.

Hammerhead sharks are classified as critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List. There are no clear estimates of the number of individuals remaining globally, but researchers believe that the species' numbers are declining year after year.

The baby hammerhead sharks died before they were born. Photo: MEF

During the autopsy, the research team collected and examined vital organs, including the heart, liver, esophagus, stomach, spleen, kidneys, and pancreas, but found no signs of injury or disease in any of them, according to MFE representatives. They also sent samples from the animal's spinal bones, muscle tissue, and fins for further analysis in the laboratory. The shark's stomach was empty. Female hammerhead sharks often go several months without eating during their pregnancy, so this was expected.

Although the exact cause of death of the shark is still unknown, the research team from MFE suspects it may be related to fishing activities. Hammerhead sharks are particularly susceptible to the physiological stress of being caught compared to most other shark species. Pregnancy may further increase this stress. The young sharks will be preserved and donated to local schools to teach about shark reproduction.

An Khang (According to Live Science )

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