Men Try Saving Injured Hammerhead Shark And End Up Helping Her Give Birth

A group of fishermen in Venice, Florida caught something they weren’t expecting – a 12-foot hammerhead shark! Not only that, they realized the shark they pulled in was injured, pregnant and in the process of giving birth!

Fishermen deliver shark's babies

The men were fishing off a pier when the shark got caught on their fishing line. They spent several hours wrestling the line and when they finally pulled the shark in to free it, they realized they had to rescue more than one shark!

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That’s because when they turned her over they noticed that the hammerhead shark had a huge bite mark on her underside. And when they looked closer, they saw she was pregnant.

“We seen [sic] the tail, pushing out. They were trying to push their heads out, so I’m guessing the mom tried to give birth but she didn’t have the strength to push them out,” Noe Campos told WFLA.

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The fishermen pulled out a total of 20 baby sharks and released them into the water. The baby pups took off immediately. Sadly, their mother did not survive.

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Hammerhead sharks are ovoviviparous, meaning they give birth to their young alive and fully functional. The mothers often give birth in sheltered areas like bays for protection from predators (mainly other sharks) and for the abundance of food.

Here’s a video of the men delivering the baby sharks!

Although the fishermen could not save the mother, they are hopeful their actions saved her young. Hammerhead sharks are an endangered species so I’m hoping the 20 pups survive!

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