Leopard Sharks Observed In MMF Threesome Make Marine History

Fellas, is it gay to make shark history in a threesome with your mate and his girl?

Marine biologists have documented the first-ever human observation of endangered leopard sharks mating in a short-lived but enthusiastic two-male, one-female threesome.

Working in collaboration with Nouméa’s Aquarium des Lagons, researcher Dr Hugo Lassauce from the University of the Sunshine Coast recorded the ménage à trois while surveying the local leopard shark population.

He spent more than a year taking weekly snorkelling excursions nine miles off the coast of New Caledonia to monitor the animals when he spotted the interaction.

“While I was surveying this particular aggregation of leopard sharks, I spotted a female with two males grasping her pectoral fins on the sand below me,” he said.

“I thought ‘Something is going to happen – I’m staying right here with my GoPros’. An hour later, it finally happened.”

Maybe the pressure of making history got a bit too much for the trio, the actual act over in less than two minutes, with the first male finishing in 63 seconds, and the other, just 47 seconds.

“The males lost all their energy and lay immobile on the bottom while the female swam away actively,” Dr Lassauce said.

According to the study, the behaviour followed a structured sequence involving “prolonged pre-copulation positioning, male grasping of the female’s fins and tail, conspicuous siphon sac, copulatory thrusting, and clasper use”- is anyone else a bit hot under the collar?

Okay, but seriously, it’s actually important work

While any footage of a shark threesome is sure to inspire a range of thoughts and feelings, researchers say the clip could help conservation efforts and management strategies for the species, as well as artificial insemination research aimed at helping “rewild” the species across the globe.

“It’s surprising and fascinating that two males were involved sequentially on this occasion,” marine ecologist and co-author of the paper, Dr Christine Dudgeon said.

“From a genetic diversity perspective, we want to find out how many fathers contribute to the batches of eggs laid each year by females.”

Scientists don’t yet have much information about reproductive behaviour in wild sharks, but we do have documentation of other species taking part in a spot of group sex, with multiple males to one female, so it’s not something that’s completely unheard of.

As we descend deeper in an increasingly fascist, conservative, and sex negative world, it’s nice to be reminded that regardless of politics, Mother Nature will always be there to get her freak on.

“It’s rare to witness sharks mating in the wild,” said Dr Lassauce, “but to see it with an endangered species – and film the event – was so exciting that we just started cheering.”