May
20
“Vegetarian” nurse shark
Three years ago, when Florence arrived at the National Sea Life Centre from Florida, her caretakers discovered that she had a fishing hook lodged deep inside her mouth. She received a groundbreaking out-of-water surgery, making her the first shark to survive such an operation. But after Florence healed up, she didn’t return to her protein-rich diet. When her keepers offer her fish, she refuses to eat, instead stealing vegetables meant for her green turtle roommate. A nurse shark eating the occasional bit of algae isn’t unusual, but for a shark to turn down meat entirely is unheard of.
