Nurse sharks

Simply suck in their prey

Sharks do not have a positive image with us humans: they are considered bloodthirsty and extremely dangerous. Many films show them as monsters of the seas. But sharks can also be peaceful. An example for this are our nurse sharks in SEA LIFE Speyer. Here our nurse shark lovers swim fin in fin through the water.

They are very comfortable animals and usually rest on the bottom at the lower edge of the ocean basin. Their skin is very rough and feels like sandpaper. It is many times rougher than most shark species. The conspicuous barbels on the nose are used to find food on the sandy bottom. In contrast to other shark species, nurse sharks do not tear their prey apart, but simply suck it in. This is probably why they only have very small teeth. The sucking in sound of the prey is sometimes even audible above the water surface.

Nurse sharks have the strange habit of literally lying on top of each other when sleeping. Divers have already seen about 30 nurse sharks lying on top of each other.

During your visit to SEA LIFE you will learn more about the food and comfort of our nurse sharks.