When I took this picture last month, I was already imagining my blog post
You know, like if I were a real blogger, with commenters 'n 'at?
When we were at the Pittburgh Zoo/Aquarium on one of our many recent visits, we watched these Wolf Sharks for a few minutes. The darker one was in his usual place, lying on the floor of their tank, looking like he was bearing some suffering (old age? captivity?). He was a pretty lethargic dude. The lighter colored one swam around the tank for a bit, then swooped in next to the other one, resting next to him. It even looked like they were in some sort of intimate position of comforting or companionship.
Well, I thought I would write this BRILLIANT blog post that would make me famous, or at least pan out into another magazine entry (won't yet tell you all the details on that until I see it in print with my name attached-because something could come up at the last minute, but trust me I will make a very big deal about being published in a magazine you've never even heard of). I considered all kinds of angles about suffering, potential loss, companionship, maybe even work in a quote from Shawshank Redemption or something, depeding on the direction I could run away with about these two captive beasts, surrendered to their mutual fates.
I thought I would look up Wolf Sharks (also known as Wolf-Eels), to learn a little more about them in general. A simple googling brought me to this webpage, and wouldn't you know that Nature is more beautiful and fascinating than anything I can imagine or write.
When we were at the Pittburgh Zoo/Aquarium on one of our many recent visits, we watched these Wolf Sharks for a few minutes. The darker one was in his usual place, lying on the floor of their tank, looking like he was bearing some suffering (old age? captivity?). He was a pretty lethargic dude. The lighter colored one swam around the tank for a bit, then swooped in next to the other one, resting next to him. It even looked like they were in some sort of intimate position of comforting or companionship.
Well, I thought I would write this BRILLIANT blog post that would make me famous, or at least pan out into another magazine entry (won't yet tell you all the details on that until I see it in print with my name attached-because something could come up at the last minute, but trust me I will make a very big deal about being published in a magazine you've never even heard of). I considered all kinds of angles about suffering, potential loss, companionship, maybe even work in a quote from Shawshank Redemption or something, depeding on the direction I could run away with about these two captive beasts, surrendered to their mutual fates.
I thought I would look up Wolf Sharks (also known as Wolf-Eels), to learn a little more about them in general. A simple googling brought me to this webpage, and wouldn't you know that Nature is more beautiful and fascinating than anything I can imagine or write.
A wolf-eel pair seems to mate for life. The pair often lies side by side
with their heads together. They form a pair bond at about four years old (when
they are three feet long), but will notproduce eggs until they're about seven
years old.
Spawning time is from October through the winter, where the
female deposits approximately 10,000 large eggs (a little over 6mm) in the
pair's home crevice or cave, where they adhere to the rocky substratum. During
courtship, the male butts the female in the stomach and then wraps himself
around her. He probably fertIlizes the eggs as they are laid.
Wolf-eels are
very caring parents relative to most fishes. They trade off egg guard duty, with
one guarding while the other hunts.
Should something happen to one of the
pair, the other may coil around the eggs and fast until they hatch.
The
female will periodically rotate the eggs until they hatch in 13-16 weeks .
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