Discovering a Leopard Shark at Keller Beach
“We discovered a leopard shark washed up on the beach,” KftB Educator Hannah Welsh announced. “It is still in really great condition. You can see some injuries, but it’s still whole and hasn’t started visibly decomposing yet. Is that something that you all want to go see?” asked Hannah. The Environmentalists from Michelle Obama Elementary School in Richmond couldn’t wait to see the shark specimen!
Ms. Hannah explained that, in order to see the shark, students must promise to abide by the boundaries that KftB Educators had set up around the shark to ensure that no students got too close. “We’re going to observe it as scientists from a few feet away. We’re not going to be poking it, or disturbing it in any way. This shark was once alive, and we need to treat it with respect. Do you all agree?” The young scientists promised to show the shark care and respect. As the class followed Ms. Hannah across the beach, she explained, “This specimen is small, even for a leopard shark. Leopard sharks can grow to be around four to seven feet long. When pups are born, they are about eight inches long. I estimate that the specimen we found is just a little over a foot long, so it is definitely a very young shark.”
A hush fell over the group as students’ eyes fell upon the shark specimen lying in the sand. “Yeah, it was attacked,” concluded Santi right away, upon his first glimpse. He leaned closer to inspect the injuries to the shark’s dorsal fin and gill area, where chunks of flesh were missing. “I’d love to hear any observations about this shark,” said Ms. Hannah. Kimaya replied, “I think he has a super interesting pattern of spots. I know a lot about leopard sharks. All of them have a unique pattern of spots. Just like our thumbprints–no two are the same!”
“What do you think happened to the shark?” Ms. Hannah asked the young scientists. “I see that the shark has a hole in it, so probably like a predator or something bit him, and that’s how he died,” suggested Santi. “Maybe a bird, like the brown pelicans we saw earlier, dove into the water and stabbed it with its long beak,” suggested Ezekiel. “That would make a lot of sense. I think a bird dropped it here because it seems impossible that the water washed it this far up the beach,” added Ruby. “It’s possible for the water to reach all the way up to where the shark is if it’s high tide!” replied Luna. “What if humans shot it, or a spear fisherman killed it?” asked Reno. “A human might have killed it. Maybe some divers got scared of it and killed it, or maybe a spear fisherman killed him,” suggested De’Ore. “Maybe they wanted to dissect it and study it,” added Morgan.
“What do you know about decomposition? Does anybody have any predictions about what this shark might look like if we left it here for two weeks?” asked Ms. Hannah. “It would rot,” said Haroon.
“What would be left behind?” Ms. Hannah prompted. “We would just see the bones!” said Camila. “That’s right! As this shark slowly decomposes, the skin and soft matter will go back into the Earth, and it will just be things like the bones, its skeletal structure, that are left,” said Ms. Hannah. “Flies and bugs will eat it,” added Serenity. “Things like flies and other insects are some of our primary decomposers. They do the work of breaking down the shark by chewing it up and turning it into soil,” Ms. Hannah confirmed.
“It’s so sad to see animals washed ashore like this. I think human impacts like pollution might have caused this. It makes me so upset to see animals get hurt or killed by humans. I think it is important that we are talking about what happened to this shark and that we think about it so we can think about ways to save more sharks,” said Salma.
As the young scientists reflected on the day’s activities and shared what they had learned, the discovery of the leopard shark remained at the forefront of their minds. “I loved observing the leopard shark. I liked talking about what might’ve happened to it. It’s sad to see, but it was a cool learning experience,” said Eliza. “When we observed the leopard shark like scientists, I saw that the leopard shark had an interesting pattern. There were also flies around the leopard shark because it was decomposing,” shared Yaritizi. “It was sad to see a dead animal washed up by the tide, but it’s also very interesting,” concluded Camila.
Watershed Action: Coastal Connections students worked on strengthening their scientific reasoning and observational skills by studying a real-life shark specimen during this special field trip to Keller Beach.
This field trip was made possible by California Coastal Commission’s Whale Tail Grant.
