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Lemon shark pups spend the first part of their lives in the shelter of mangrove forests. Their chances of survival in the first year are 50/50, but mangrove habitats improve their odds by providing the shelter they need, as well as an ideal place to learn to hunt. But as mankind clear cuts these coastal habitats for houses, hotels, golf courses and marinas, what will become of these furtive fish?

Our new photo story, with images by Shane Gross, reveals sharks as you’ve never seen them before—as vulnerable and naïve youngsters that have yet to become the fearsome predators we know and (dare we say) love. For the full PDF feature, complete with text, click here.

Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Lemon shark juvenile (Negaprion brevirostris) trying to feed on the leaves of a red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle). As pups, the sharks have to learn to hunt for themselves and sometimes make mistakes.... - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark juvenile (Negaprion brevirostris) trying to feed on the leaves of a red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle). As pups, the sharks have to learn to hunt for themselves and sometimes make mistakes....
Lemon shark juvenile (Negaprion brevirostris) swimming in mangrove habitat near blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), a prey species for the shark. Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark juvenile (Negaprion brevirostris) swimming in mangrove habitat near blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), a prey species for the shark. Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Lemon shark pups (Negaprion brevirostris) spend the first 5-8 years of their life in mangrove forests. Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pups (Negaprion brevirostris) spend the first 5-8 years of their life in mangrove forests. Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Cement seawall during a lightning storm, The Bahamas. Seawalls that replace mangroves do a worse job at protecting islands, are far more expensive, and don't offer the ecological benefits of mangr... - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Cement seawall during a lightning storm, The Bahamas. Seawalls that replace mangroves do a worse job at protecting islands, are far more expensive, and don't offer the ecological benefits of mangr...
Lemon shark pups (Negaprion brevirostris) spend the first 5-8 years of their life in mangrove forests. The tangle of roots provides protection from predators and is full of potential prey like juvenil... - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pups (Negaprion brevirostris) spend the first 5-8 years of their life in mangrove forests. The tangle of roots provides protection from predators and is full of potential prey like juvenil...
Men at a construction site in a mangrove area in The Bahamas. The site will become a restaurant, night club and small hotel. December 2015. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Men at a construction site in a mangrove area in The Bahamas. The site will become a restaurant, night club and small hotel. December 2015.
Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Researchers test whether a lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) had been previously tagged at the Cape Eleuthera Insitute, Bahamas. September 2015 - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Researchers test whether a lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) had been previously tagged at the Cape Eleuthera Insitute, Bahamas. September 2015
Shark biologist Ian Bouyoucos and education programme assistant Cameron Raguse from the Cape Eluthera Institute release two juvenile lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) back into the wild. The shark... - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Shark biologist Ian Bouyoucos and education programme assistant Cameron Raguse from the Cape Eluthera Institute release two juvenile lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) back into the wild. The shark...
Researcher Ian Bouyoucos of the Cape Eleuthera Institute in The Bahamas releasing Lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) pup into his temporary enclosure. The shark will be observed to help us better un... - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Researcher Ian Bouyoucos of the Cape Eleuthera Institute in The Bahamas releasing Lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) pup into his temporary enclosure. The shark will be observed to help us better un...
Researchers test whether a lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) had been previously tagged at the Cape Eleuthera Insitute, Bahamas. September 2015 - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Researchers test whether a lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) had been previously tagged at the Cape Eleuthera Insitute, Bahamas. September 2015
Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in a research tank at the Cape Eleuthera Institute, The Bahamas - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in a research tank at the Cape Eleuthera Institute, The Bahamas
Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Lemon shark pups (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest, Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pups (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest, Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Lemon shark juvenile (Negaprion brevirostris) swimming in mangrove habitat, surrounded by smaller fish species, prey for the shark. Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark juvenile (Negaprion brevirostris) swimming in mangrove habitat, surrounded by smaller fish species, prey for the shark. Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) adult resting and allowing a small cleaner wrasse feed off parasites. Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) adult resting and allowing a small cleaner wrasse feed off parasites. Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas.
Lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) hunting over Turtlegrass (Thalassia testudinum) seagrass bed, view from below. Florida Keys, Florida, USA. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) hunting over Turtlegrass (Thalassia testudinum) seagrass bed, view from below. Florida Keys, Florida, USA.
Lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) swimming over sargassum seabed off Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) swimming over sargassum seabed off Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas.
Lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) swimming over a sandy seabed off Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) swimming over a sandy seabed off Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas.
Lemon shark pups (Negaprion brevirostris) spend the first 5-8 years of their life in mangrove forests. The tangle of roots provides protection from predators and is full of potential prey like juvenil... - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pups (Negaprion brevirostris) spend the first 5-8 years of their life in mangrove forests. The tangle of roots provides protection from predators and is full of potential prey like juvenil...
Lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) pup in mangrove nursery, reflected on water surface. The Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris) pup in mangrove nursery, reflected on water surface. The Bahamas.
Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas. - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark pup (Negaprion brevirostris) in mangrove forest which acts as a nursery for juveniles of this species. Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris), floating dead at surface. Likely to have been caught and released by sport fisherman with the removal of the hook removing much of the shark's head. Florida K... - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark (Negaprion brevirostris), floating dead at surface. Likely to have been caught and released by sport fisherman with the removal of the hook removing much of the shark's head. Florida K...
Lemon shark(Negaprion brevirostris) pup, these spend the first 5-8 years of their life in mangrove forests. Eleuthera, Bahamas - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Lemon shark(Negaprion brevirostris) pup, these spend the first 5-8 years of their life in mangrove forests. Eleuthera, Bahamas
Head portrait of photographer Shane Gross on assignment with the Greenpeace ship Esperanza during its expedition to the Sargasso Sea, North Atlantic Ocean. 2019 - Shane Gross
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Shane Gross / Head portrait of photographer Shane Gross on assignment with the Greenpeace ship Esperanza during its expedition to the Sargasso Sea, North Atlantic Ocean. 2019