They are some of the ocean's most fearsome predators. Now, a study has revealed that sharks can be just as dangerous to their mates as they are to their prey. Gruesome footage reveals the horrendous injuries inflicted by male sharks as they grasp females with their teeth while they mate.
![[These violent rituals leave the females, and sometimes even the males, with deep 'mating wounds' which cut through the skin down to the muscle]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/08/12/93864893-14262401-These_violent_rituals_leave_the_females_and_sometimes_even_the_m-a-18_1736338721520.jpg)
These bloody love bites are now helping scientists piece together the hidden secrets of sharks' sex lives. To mate, sharks have to press their bellies together while the male penetrates the female. That's a fairly straightforward process for smaller, more nimble species.
![[Researchers examined the mating wounds sustained by sand tiger sharks held in an aquarium as they healed. This allowed them to create a scale for rating the severity and freshness of mating wounds]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/08/12/93864789-14262401-Researchers_examined_the_mating_wounds_sustained_by_sand_tiger_s-a-21_1736338870216.jpg)
However, larger sharks often struggle to line themselves up for long enough. This means that male sharks often violently bite down on the fins or gills of their mate to hold them in place, inflicting deep cuts in the process. While mating, male sharks will bite onto the pectoral fins or gills of females to hold them in place long enough to press their bellies together.
![[The researchers analysed photos of sand tiger sharks in the Spot A Shark USA database to see how many mating wounds they had. Injuries sustained in the zones labelled 3, 4, and 5 were classified as mating wounds]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/08/12/93864787-14262401-The_researchers_analysed_photos_of_sand_tiger_sharks_in_the_Spot-a-20_1736338867365.jpg)
The researchers looked at 'mating wounds' sustained by sand tiger sharks, a species which can grow up to three metres (10ft) in length. Because these sharks spend most of their time as solitary hunters who mate out at sea, scientists don't know many of the intimate details of their sex lives.
![[This revealed that sharks had the most fresh wounds during late May, suggesting that the mating season is in mid to late summer. The data also shows that sharks with mating wounds were concentrated around North Carolina. This shows that the area is a mating and gestation hot-spot for sand tiger sharks]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/08/12/93866751-14262401-This_revealed_that_sharks_had_the_most_fresh_wounds_during_late_-a-34_1736339333052.jpg)
Although cases of mating in the wild have only rarely been observed, the researchers realised that they could look at mating wounds instead. Lead author Dr Jennifer Wyffels, of the University of Delaware, told LiveScience: 'Sharks and rays use their mouths to hold and position females and therefore, mating wounds are common during the reproductive season.
