Fresh bites found on apex predators are evidence of a brutal ritual, experts say

Sharks have a reputation for being vicious apex predators and it turns out they don’t even pretend to be nice during mating with each other.

Instead of hugs and snuggles, sharks use their teeth in brutal ways, experts say.

An example surfaced the final week of June, when the Oregon-based Sulikowski Shark and Research Conservation Lab pulled a female blue shark out of the ocean.

Her skin was laced with long gashes, photos show.

“In many shark species, mating can leave a mark — literally,” the lab wrote in a July 1 Facebook post.

“During copulation, male sharks often bite females to hold them in place, a behavior that can leave visible scars on the female’s body. These mating scars are most commonly found on the pectoral fins, flanks or gill regions.”

Such scars are seen as a sign of good health in shark populations, and they provide hints of where highly secretive sharks might be mating, experts say.

The shark research agency OCEARCH has recorded similar bites in the great white shark population, and the wounds often appear fresh off North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

That indicates the region may be a white shark mating ground, the nonprofit says.

A male white shark will grab the female by the head with its jaws, in an attempt to “roll her over,” OCEARCH officials told McClatchy News in 2021. In some cases, the female might even have more than one male trying to bite her simultaneously.

Researchers have also documented scars on the faces of sharks, but that’s for something completely different: seals using their claws to avoid being eaten, according to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy.

This story was originally published July 2, 2025 at 4:30 AM with the headline "Fresh bites found on apex predators are evidence of a brutal ritual, experts say."