This is the Triaendon obesus or whitetip Reef Shark
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This is a beautiful and graceful Triaendon obesus. In Hawaiian, manō lālākea.
Manō means shark and lālākea refers to it’s white tipped fins, often known as a whitetip reef shark. These sharks can be found on reefs through out the Indo-Pacific regions. They are nocturnal and are often resting in caves or under ledges on the reef during the day. In Hawaii, they are often revered as ‘aumakua or guardian spirits for some families. It is believed that these sharks have been around for 42 million years. It is sad to think that now, since 2020, their population is listed as decreasing and vulnerable.
They have a slender body with a flattened head and rounded snout.
The dorsal (top fin) and the upper caudal (tail fin) have bright white tips. They are counter shaded which simply means darker on the top of their body fading to a lighter under body. The sides of their bodies are often dotted with small dark spots as seen above. They are typically between 3-6 feet in length and usually no more than 40 pounds. They do have about 43-50 teeth with at least 2 functioning rows hiding in that mouth. However, they are not aggressive towards humans. Fun fact, reports all the way back to 1580 have shown no fatal attacks by the whitetip reef shark. According to National Geographic, “you have 1 in 218 chance of dying from a fall, but a 1 in a 3.7 million chance of being killed by a shark”, but not a whitetip reef shark.
The whitetips are hunted by larger sharks such as tiger sharks or even giant groupers.
The whitetips hunt and feed (in the evening) on octopus, small bony fish, mollusks, and crustaceans. These sharks have a unique ability to rest or sleep on the bottom or in caves without to have move constantly to breathe. They are “buccal pumpers” meaning that they can use their cheek muscles to draw water in and push it out thus creating their own current of water passing over their gills.
Their lifespan is about 25 years.
This shark reaches sexual maturity around 8 years. The gestation period for this species is about 12 months and often give birth to 2-4 pups. The whitetips can be very social species often cruising around with others. Once they find their home on the reef, they tend to stay there for many years and often never leave that area. So if you are lucky enough to encounter one, take in it’s beauty and grace without fear. They are a magnificent sight to sea….I mean see!
The image above was taken during a Private Ocean Project Maui Snorkel Tour.
This colorful image was taken off a West Maui Beach by the dedicated staff of Ocean Project Maui. They offer custom, private snorkel tours around the island of Maui, Hawaii. Each #COLORSOFTHEOCEAN image you see in our monthly blog, was captured during a private guided snorkel tour. These amazing images, as well as images above and below the water of the clients/supporters are included in every tour at no additional cost.
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