Written by Natalie Kikken
To honour World Oceans Day 8 June, get crafty by making your own 3D grey nurse shark.
Grey nurse sharks in eastern Australia are critically endangered, due to overfishing. Protective measures are in place to help the species recover.
How science is helping
These fascinating creatures are an important part of a healthy ocean ecosystem and form
part of the marine food chain.
We are using their DNA so we can match members of the same family to find out how many there are in our seas. It’s estimated that there are less than 2,200 adult grey nurse sharks living on the east coast of Australia.
This information is helping to manage their conservation. You can read more on the CSIRO blog.
Make a 3D shark
To make your own 3D shark, download and print out the activity sheet. You’ll need scissors to cut out the pieces, and glue to stick them together.
Meanwhile, here are some grey nurse shark facts to fascinate your family and friends!
Grey nurse sharks have rows and rows of teeth that are continually replaced
All the better for eating fish, octopus, rays and lobsters with!
They grow up to three metres long
They are slow moving but strong swimmers and are the most active at night
They live on the sandy sea floor and in rocky caves, close to reefs and
They can swim to depths of 200 metres below the ocean’s surface
Grey nurse sharks are not a threat to people unless provoked
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