This article speaks of hypnosis, although perhaps, to avoid misunderstandings, it would be better to write “hypnosis”: no watches dangling in front of the eyes, only a scientific method, as far as bizarre appearance, to be able to “deactivate” a group of sharks.
The aim? Extract the seed to facilitate the artificial insemination of a kind of shark at risk of extinction. The details of this new methodology are told on the official website of the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia, and in Videos you see below.
Repopulate the species. First, let’s clarify which sharks we are talking: Stegostoma Tigrinumathe zebra shark, is a widespread species along the coasts of the Indian and peaceful oceans that the IUCN is classified as “Vulnerable “because of wild fishing to which it is subjected almost everywhere.
To help the species to recover, the University of the Sunshince Coast, in collaboration with the Reshark collective and a series of aquariums and marine parks on the Australian continent, launched the Great Australian Stegostoma Semen Expedition, which plans to help the species repopulate artificially inseminating some females (and then monitoring the state of health of the sharks born with this procedure). And it is here that hypnosis enters.
How do you hypnotize a shark? Zebra sharks are slow and relatively peaceful, but they can overcome the two meters in length and males may not appreciate a direct seed sampling intervention for insemination purposes. The team has therefore experienced a method that consists of stimulate the sensory pores they have on the muzzle: This reassures them and allows them to put them on the belly in the air, a condition in which the sharks relax further and enter a state of toned immobility.
In simpler words, Sharks are so relaxed that they seem dead – a condition that in nature is a defensive response to certain predators, but which allows researchers of “Make” males without stressing them. Once the seed is obtained, the insemination of the females is relatively easier. Now it is just about waiting for pregnancy, and finding out if the little ones born with this method are healthy.
