Vanda, the Singapore-born"miracle baby" zebra shark is turning five on Monday , as Singapore celebrates its 56th National Day.
This natural process is called parthenogenesis, which refers to the development of embryos without the fertilisation of eggs. This has been recorded in plants and animals including fish, snakes and lizards, in the wild and under human care.Among the nine eggs collected and incubated by the aquarists at SEA Aquarium between March and June 2016, only Vanda survived, which made her extra special to the curatorial team.
That would be Hope, who is also suspected to be born through parthenogenesis in Jan 9. Currently about 80cm long, she is housed in the aquarium’s quarantine area where she is exposed to enrichment activities, such as target feeding.e decided to name the baby shark 'Hope' to signify a new and positive dawn for zebra sharks, which are listed as ‘vulnerable’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species,” he explained.
Eventually, as these bonds form, it allows aquarists to be able to quickly assess the sharks’ well-being and physical health easily.According to marine life conservation experts, the female’s ability to produce offspring from an unfertilised egg could be an invaluable survival mechanism in the absence of a suitable mate. It is a way of keeping their lineage going for one or two breeding seasons until the female comes across a suitable mate.
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