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For nearly 20 years , a group of horseshit sharks hold out in an artificial pond on an Australian golf course after having been stranded by receding floodwaters . Then , they vanish .
Anew paperpublished Aug. 18 in the daybook Marine and Fishery Sciences chronicle the history of this unique population .
Unlike many other shark species, bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) are able to survive in freshwater environments such as rivers.
Bull sharks ( Carcharhinus leucas ) are unusual in that they can live in freshwater environments and are find in rivers around the world . Although their freshwater sojourn are typically impermanent , bull shark have occasionally been trap in fresh water environments for long menstruum — and apparently thrived .
The golf line sharks were in all probability lave inland during periods of flooding . TheCarbrook Golf Club , southeast of Brisbane , is instantly adjacent to the Logan and Albert rivers . Summer storms once in a while result in rain that go against the banks of these rivers , inundating the wall floodplain . give that the grade is less than 6.2 mile ( 10 kilometers ) inland from the glide , it is well within the fresh water zona inhabit by pig shark .
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The shark ended up in the pond , which was the end of a guts minelaying cognitive operation , at some point between 1991 and 1996 . During that period , three inundation transgress the rivers ' banks and sweep up inland , bringing the sharks with them . When the floodwaters drop off , the shark were stranded .
They were first find in 1996 , and while the pool — which is around 2,300 feet ( 700 meters ) farseeing and 1,250 feet ( 380 m ) deeply — is relatively small and shallow , no stately universe enumeration were ever established . The sharks were , however , often visible , often coming near the shoring . Their presence was welcomed by the golf course management , and the species became a mascot for the establishment .
The sharks were likely juvenile when they found themselves strand but eventually grew up to 9.8 feet ( 3 meters ) long , according to data-based report . Their alimentation habits were not scrutinized , but it is likely that species that were also introduced to the pool during flooding events — such as flathead grey mullet ( Mugil cephalus ) , Indo - Pacific tarpon ( Megalops cyprinoides ) , mangrove red cracker ( Lutjanus argentimaculatus ) and yellowfin sea bream ( Acanthopagrus australis ) — provided ample sustenance .
" Ifsharkscan get the food they demand , being in these miserable - salt environments can be super beneficial because there are few predators,“Michael Heithaus , a shark biologist at Florida International University who was not call for in the survey , told Live Science . " Pups in some glasshouse may go years in near fresh urine , so it is n’t too surprising they survived , as long as there was plenty of food . "
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The shark were last seen in 2015 . Another flood in 2013 may have allow some of the shark to break away back into the adjacent riverways , though the theme ’s generator think others may have simply died and sank . One carcase was recover by golf game course staff while the sharks were still active in the pond .
While the pool seems to be innocent of shark now , this strange sequence illustrate the adaptability of these primeval marauder and their leeway of freshwater environments . The squad say the case of the golf pool sharks is the longest make out instance of bull shark unceasingly inhabit a humble - salinity environment .
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