Having discussed wonderful whale sharks, magical manta rays, terrific turtles & super seahorses, we continue our series on how divers can contribute to citizen science research by looking at lovely leopard sharks.

The Leopard Shark is also referred to as a Zebra Shark, as juveniles have stripes like a zebra. Adults have spots like a leopard. Isn’t nature cool?! Like Whale Sharks & Mantas, their unique patterns can be used to identity individual Leopard Sharks.

They're commonly seen resting on the sea bed and can be passively observed by divers if they stay still & keep their distance so as not to scare off the Leopard Shark. In the North Andaman Sea they can be seen at Koh Tachai (most northerly island in Similan National Park) & Surin Islands.

Sadly we've found that sightings of Leopard Sharks have dropped significantly over the past 6 years. This seems to be the same story across most of Thailand. It is not known whether this is due to over-fishing or changes in sea temperatures caused by El Nino in 2010. Leopard Sharks can travel extensive distances, which may take them into dangerous fishing territory or may allow them to migrate to areas with appropriate sea temperatures, habitats & food.

Spot the Leopard Shark is a research project led by Dr Christine Dudgeon, a postdoctoral researcher at Queensland University. Her Australian research program was expanded to include Thailand in 2013. All divers can submit their photos of Leopard Sharks to a Facebook page, along with details of where & when the shark was seen. This enables research into population size, life spans, travelling distances & preferred habitats. Sightings can be submitted to: www.facebook.com/SpotTheLeopardShark

One of the Leopard Sharks photographed at Koh Tachai by Blue Guru and submitted to Spot The Leopard Shark was subsequently seen 200km south at Phi Phi. That’s a long swim! There is also evidence from Australia that Leopard Sharks can swim 2000km in just 6 months. That’s a very very long swim!

Shark Guardian are also monitoring leopard shark populations in Thailand as part of their eShark projects. Sightings of leopard sharks, along with all other shark species, can be submitted to: www.sharkguardian.org/thailand-eshark-project

We look forward to getting back in the water in November to resume our next season’s Ocean Action Project survey work and making more contributions to Shark Guardian & Spot The Leopard Shark research.