Topic: Research News

Scientists found that bull sharks form social relationships with specific friends, just like humans do. They even have preferences for who they hang out with and avoid others.

Bull sharks are known to be solitary predators, but new research shows that they actually have a rich social life. A team of scientists from the University of Exeter, University of Lancaster, Fiji Shark Lab, and Beqa Adventure Divers tracked 184 bull sharks for six years to study their social behavior.

The researchers found that adult bull sharks are the most socially connected, forming bonds with others of similar size. They also discovered that both male and female bull sharks tend to associate more often with females, while males have a greater number of social connections overall.

The scientists analyzed broad patterns of association, such as staying within one body length of each other, as well as more detailed interactions like

Implications

Scientists found that bull sharks form social relationships with specific friends, just like humans do. They even have preferences for who they hang out with and avoid others.