A Leopard Shark near Koh Born
The
Sharks of Thailand
By Lars
Bindholt
Home Species Leopard shark where?
Leopard
Shark
(Stegostoma fasciatum)
A Leopard Shark near Koh Born
A
quite common bottom resting shark. Has a rounded snout and black spots. Not
white spots as the much bigger Whale Shark. The very long tail lack the lover
lope. Only the small rarely seen juveniles have stripes, supporting the name
Zebra Shark. In Thailand they are very often spotted at Shark Point between Phi Phi Islands and
Phuket. At Similan Islands it is found most often below 25 meters of depth,
Triple Arch and Boulders probably being the best places to spot them. Surin
Islands is not the best place to look for Leopard sharks.
Quite often seen in mating behaviour: the smaller male following the female, its
mouth at the females tail. Sometimes the female turns around belly up when the
male is gripping the tip of the females tail in the mouth, and they both come to
rest on the bottom.
Nowadays unfortunately more and more Leopard Sharks are found with fishing hooks
and lines protruding from the mouth. A graceful shark up to 2,5 meters feeding
mostly on molluscs and crustaceans. Not shy.
