Researchers in Australia were astounded when they realised the three-metre shark had regurgitated a whole echidna, spines and all.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>
Researchers at\u00a0James Cook University<\/a>\u00a0(JCU) in Australia were astounded when they saw a tiger shark throw up something totally unexpected. <\/strong><\/p> They had been tagging the sharks off the coast of Queensland\u2019s Orpheus Island in May 2022 when a shark vomited up a dead echidna.\u00a0The team believe this discovery is a world-first.\u00a0<\/p> \u201cWhen it spat it out, I looked at it and remarked \u2018What the hell is that?\u2019\u201d says\u00a0former JCU PhD student\u00a0Nicolas Lubitz. \u201cSomeone said to take a picture, so I scrambled to get my phone.\u201d<\/p> Lubitz was able to take one photo, which shows the shape of the echidna in the water next to the three-metre-long shark. \u201cWe were quite shocked at what we saw. We really didn\u2019t know what was going on,\u201d he says.<\/p> Tiger sharks are known for eating pretty much anything \u2013 they\u2019re often nicknamed \u2018the trash cans of the sea\u2019 and have even been found\u00a0with tyres and license plates<\/a>\u00a0in their stomachs. \u201cI\u2019ve seen videos of them eating a rock for no reason,\u201d Lubitz says.\u00a0<\/p> Still, seeing the predator<\/a> regurgitate an echidna, spines and all, was a total head-scratcher. \u201cIt was a fully intact\u00a0echidna\u00a0with all its spines and its legs,\u201d he says.<\/p> Echidnas<\/a>\u00a0are an egg-laying mammal native to Australia. They look a bit like a\u00a0hedgehog<\/a>\u00a0that told too many lies until its nose grew, like Pinocchio.<\/p> The echidna was still whole when the shark threw it up so the researchers believe it was a recent kill. <\/p> Exactly how the shark managed to catch it isn\u2019t entirely clear but Lubitz assumes that the tiger shark could have taken the echidna while it was swimming in the shallows or between the islands (fun fact: although they live on land, echidnas can\u00a0swim \u2013 paddling with their feet and using their long nose like a snorkel).<\/p> Sharks don\u2019t often throw up their food but it does happen. They sometimes regurgitate what they\u2019ve eaten when they\u2019re stressed, says Lubitz: \u201cIn this case, I think the\u00a0echidna\u00a0must have just felt a bit funny in its throat.”<\/p> The tiger shark was unharmed by its dodgy meal and the researchers were able to fit the animal with an acoustic tag to help them track its movements. The species is\u00a0critically endangered\u00a0so learning more about them is a vital part of protecting them from extinction.<\/p> More on sharks:<\/strong><\/p> Researchers in Australia were astounded when they realised the three-metre shark had regurgitated a whole echidna, spines and all.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":38992,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/06\/tiger-shark-vomits-up-spiny-anteater-shocking-australian-scientists.jpg",2121,1414,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/06\/tiger-shark-vomits-up-spiny-anteater-shocking-australian-scientists-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/06\/tiger-shark-vomits-up-spiny-anteater-shocking-australian-scientists-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/06\/tiger-shark-vomits-up-spiny-anteater-shocking-australian-scientists-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/06\/tiger-shark-vomits-up-spiny-anteater-shocking-australian-scientists-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/06\/tiger-shark-vomits-up-spiny-anteater-shocking-australian-scientists-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/06\/tiger-shark-vomits-up-spiny-anteater-shocking-australian-scientists-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Researchers in Australia were astounded when they realised the three-metre shark had regurgitated a whole echidna, spines and all.\u00a0\u00a0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/38991"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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