Sharks, often portrayed as solitary killing machines, are far more socially complex than we once thought. While they might not form friendships in the human sense, many species of sharks engage in social behaviors that resemble friendships.

Sharks Really Form Friendships

These relationships are driven by survival and mutual benefits rather than emotional bonds. Here’s a deeper look into the social lives of sharks and their “friendships”.

Symbiotic Relationships: More Than Just a Meal One of the most notable ways sharks form bonds is through symbiotic relationships, particularly with smaller fish like remoras. Remoras have a suction cup-like fin on their heads, which they use to attach themselves to a shark’s body. This relationship is mutually beneficial:

  • Remoras get:
    • A free ride across the ocean.
    • Protection from predators.
    • A meal of scraps left behind by the shark.
    • They also feed on parasites on the shark’s skin and mouth.
  • Sharks get:
    • Cleaning of parasites, preventing irritation and harm.
    • The water around the shark is kept clear of scraps, preventing unhealthy organisms.

Other “Friendly” Interactions Besides remoras, sharks interact with other fish in ways that could be considered friendship-like:

  • Pilot fish swim alongside sharks, eating leftovers, similar to remoras, but they do not attach to the shark.
  • Mackerel will rub against sharks’ rough skin to scratch off scales and parasites.
  • Barber fish eat parasites off of sharks, resulting in a mutual grooming exchange.
  • Jack fish swim alongside sharks, using them as cover to attack their own prey.

These interactions suggest that sharks seek out company and that some species understand the benefits of these interspecies relationships.

Social Structures Within Shark Species

Sharks also form social bonds with members of their own species. They often form stable groups, with some species maintaining these relationships for years. Gray reef sharks, for instance, have been observed returning to the same communities and maintaining associations with specific individuals over extended periods. Port Jackson sharks prefer to associate with sharks of the same sex and size, forming relationships that can last for years. These behaviors are not random; sharks demonstrate preferences and familiarity with specific individuals.

Benefits of Socializing These social interactions offer several evolutionary advantages:

  • Improved foraging: Sharks in social groups can share information about good feeding spots.
  • Predator avoidance: Groups of sharks can better detect and respond to threats.
  • Information sharing: Sharks engage in “fission-fusion” societies, splitting into smaller groups to forage and then reuniting to share information.

However, there are limits; if a group gets too large, the competition for food outweighs the advantages of social information sharing.

Not All Sharks Are Friendly While many sharks engage in these social behaviors, not all interactions are friendly. Some species, like sandbar and lemon sharks, have been observed acting aggressively towards remoras, even consuming them.

Challenging the Stereotypes The study of shark behavior is constantly evolving, revealing a complexity that challenges the stereotype of sharks as solitary, mindless killers. While the term ‘friendship’ may not be accurate, sharks show a clear capacity for social interactions, highlighting their sophisticated social lives. These interactions, driven by survival, demonstrate that sharks have diverse and mutually beneficial relationships within their ecosystems.

← Previous
Next →