Rare Orange Shark Discovered in Costa Rica

There are countless sharks in the sea, millions (if not billions) of members of various species found in all corners of the ocean. While the Great Whites, Hammerheads, Tigers, Bulls, Black tips, and other species take most of the attention, there are plenty of others out there. Actually, it wasn’t long ago that sharks outnumbered humans 10-1, but as industrial-scale fishing operations have depleted the seas, they too have suffered.

we may not be shark experts here at SURFER,but we do report on them a lot (any guesses why?) and have a decent grip on what’s normal and what’s more unique. Just the other day, a huge white shark was seen off the Malibu Pier – you can spot juveniles close to shore very regularly, but the big ones are a bit more rare and far more spooky (I used to swim around the pier all the time). But this revelation of an orange shark in Costa Rica is about as unique as it gets,quite possibly the only one of it’s kind.

According to a post from marine biologist Dr.Jim Gilly, the shark is a female Bonnethead, a species of hammerhead. “I’ve been studying sharks for over 30 years and have never seen one that looks like this,” Gilly wrote. “The color is highly likely caused by a genetic mutation.”

The shark was spotted while researchers were tagging sharks in the Golfo Dulce region of Costa Rica. It’s currently unknown if the shark’s unique coloration affects its ability to hunt or survive, but researchers are hopeful they can continue to study it and learn more about this incredible anomaly.