The Shreveport Aquarium in Louisiana is poking holes in the premise of the “Baby Shark” song.
According to a statement from the aquarium, a swell shark egg hatched despite the fact that “there were no male sharks present in its habitat,” adding that the tank’s two female sharks hadn’t been in contact with a male in over three years.
As for how this could’ve happened, the aquarium notes that “either a phenomenon called parthenogenesis, a rare form of asexual reproduction, or delayed fertilization, where fertilization occurs long after mating, may have occurred.” They’ll need to take a blood draw of the pup to make sure, which can’t happen until it grows to be big enough over the next few months.
“This situation is incredible and shows the resilience of this species,” says Greg Barrick, the curator of live animals at Shreveport Aquarium. “We are very excited in the coming months to confirm whether this was indeed a case of parthenogenesis or if it was delayed fertilization.”
Quoting Jurassic Park, Barrick adds, “It really proves that life … uh … finds a way.”