First record of a dolphin with scars from a shark attack in Israel

In November 2019, researchers identified a dolphin tagged with number 1359, about three meters long. When they spotted him again a few weeks ago, they were surprised to find jagged scars on the sides of his body. After delving into the photos they took and even consulting with experts from around the world, they all determined that these are scars that come from a shark attack

For the first time in Israel, a dolphin was located that was attacked by a shark. The dolphin with the attack scars on it was located and photographed by researchers at the Maurice Kahan Marine Research Station of the Leon Charney School of Marine Sciences at the University of Haifa. "For 20 years that I have been researching the dolphin population in Israel, I have yet to see evidence of a dolphin being attacked by a shark. We will continue to monitor the dolphin population in order to understand whether this is an unusual attack event or a new phenomenon," said Dr. Aviad Sheinin, head of the super carnivore department at the Morris Kahn Station at the Leon Charney School of Marine Sciences at the University of Haifa.

As part of a long-term ecological study of the local dolphin population, Haifa University researchers in collaboration with the Ashdod Center for Education and Marine Sports are conducting a routine dolphin survey off the Ashdod coast. In November 2019, researchers identified a dolphin tagged with number 1359, about three meters long. When they spotted him again a few weeks ago, they were surprised to find jagged scars on the sides of his body. After delving into the photos they took and even consulting with experts from around the world, they all determined that these are scars that come from a shark attack - and in fact, the first documentation in Israel of a live dolphin that was attacked by a shark. According to Dr. Scheinein, based on the analysis of the scars and the species of sharks recorded in our area, some researchers estimate that this was an attack by a thresher shark, which varies between 3-4 meters in length, or a gray tip shark, which can reach a length of about five meters, but he emphasized that It is not possible to determine with certainty the species of the attacking shark from the shape of the scar.

According to Dr. Shainin, studies in the world regarding these two species of sharks have found that they attack and hunt dolphins, but during his 20 years of research in Israel he has not seen any evidence of this. "In areas where large sharks such as bull sharks or tiger sharks live, we see many dolphins with scar marks. Since here in Israel we have so far not identified a single dolphin with scars, it led us to think that there are no - or almost no - such attacks. The new evidence obliges us to check whether this is an isolated case or a new phenomenon", he concluded.