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Conservationists are collecting semen from endangered wild sharks

Scuba divers will attempt to collect semen from at least nine wild male leopard sharks for the first time, for use in captive breeding programmes aiming to boost wild populations

By Graeme Green

6 December 2024

Scientists swab the cloaca of a wild leopard shark at North Stradbroke Island off Brisbane, Australia, in order to examine its recent diet

MVErdman

A team of scientists, conservationists and vets will soon set out to achieve a world first in conservation by collecting semen from sharks in the wild.

From 7 to 14 December, around 15 experts will attempt to collect semen from Indo-Pacific leopard shark (Stegostoma tigrinum) males gathering off North Stradbroke Island near Brisbane, Australia. They hope to use the semen for artificial inseminations of female leopard sharks in aquariums across Australia and in Singapore.

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