A blacktip reef shark pup!

Long hoped for, often happened, never succeeded, until ...

Long hoped for, often happened, never succeeded, until ...

After reading this article, you will fully understand the meaning of the above sentence.
Blacktip reef sharks have been swimming in The Ocean since it opened at Royal Burgers' Zoo. Two males, Fatty and Skinny, were transferred from London Zoo in 1999. Fatty was later moved to a different location to make room for a female. Since then, the group has increased in size to two males and four females. An ideal group for breeding.

Viviparous

Sharks and rays have three different methods of reproducing. Some species are oviparous (egg-laying), such as the epaulette shark and the leopard shark. Some are ovoviviparous, which means the embryos develop inside eggs that remain in the mother's body until they are ready to hatch. In some species, such as the eagle ray, the unborn young even receive nutrition in addition to the yolk, ensuring they are already fully developed at birth. The third method is viviparity (live-bearing). Viviparous species have a placenta similar to a mammal. The blacktip reef shark and the blacktip shark belong to this group in terms of reproduction.

Swollen belly

The female blacktip reef sharks, female blacktip sharks and, in the past, female whitetip reef sharks in The Ocean would regularly show signs of a swollen belly, but it would suddenly disappear again. Presumably, these were pregnant females who gave birth. Membranes floating in the pool evidenced births were taking place. (A membrane is a thin bag in which the pup develops the first 10–14 months.) We suspected that the young were eaten after birth by other sharks in the aquarium. We attempted to separate any female blacktip reef sharks and blacktip sharks showing signs of a swollen belly to prevent this from happening. Unfortunately, it never led to pups surviving.

Success

One evening last April, around six o'clock, there was suddenly a commotion in the shark aquarium. Two sharks were chasing each other. Were they mating? After checking, we noticed a tail hanging out of the female's cloaca. We were witnessing a birth! Incredible! We soon realised the male shark was also witnessing it as he swam close behind the mother animal. While we watched the spectacle unfold from behind the glass, we suddenly notice another pup swimming in the aquarium; we must be witnessing a second birth. Amazing! Then another blacktip reef shark swam by and ate the pup right before our very eyes. We hurried to the work floor to fish the next pup out of the water. Number two was taken before we could get to it with a net, but numbers three and four were saved in time. The two newborn blacktip reef sharks were transferred to quarantine. Unfortunately, one died after only a couple of days, but the last survivor is still doing well three months later. He is eating well. Finally, success!