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How many babies can a shark have?

Author

William Rodriguez

Published Jan 23, 2026

A whole bunch of sharks give birth to live baby sharks, called pups. Mako sharks, bull sharks, lemon sharks, and blue sharks are a few examples of sharks that are born live. Great white sharks usually have only one or two pups at a time, but some of the other sharks can have a litter with up to 20 pups.

How many babies can a great white shark have?

Some sharks lay eggs, while others give live birth. Great white sharks gestate their pups for a year before giving birth – that's longer than humans. Between 2 to 12 babies are born at a time. Great whites can live up to 60 years, maybe more.

How many babies does a shark give birth to at once?

Some species can have hundreds of pups. Others have no more than two. Blue sharks have been known to give birth to more than a hundred live pups at once, and a whale shark collected off Taiwan was reported to have a litter of 300. Sand tiger sharks, on the other hand, deliver a maximum of two pups at once.

How long do sharks stay pregnant?

Shark's gestation (pregnancy) periods are infamous for being incredibly long. Their gestation periods vary from five months to three years, though most sharks gestate for about 12 months.

How many baby sharks can a bull shark have?

Females give birth to a litter of between one and 13 live young after a 10 to 11-month gestation period. Bull sharks can live to be at least 14 years old.

37 related questions found

Do sharks give birth through their mouth?

Port Jackson sharks do the same thing, carrying the egg cases in their mouth until they find a safe spot. That's about the extent of an oviparous shark's parental commitment, though. The embryo is nourished by the yolk in the egg sac and chews itself out when it is fully developed.

How do sharks get pregnant?

The male will insert his clasper into the female's cloaca, releasing sperm and fertilizing her eggs. This usually happens whilst the sharks are swimming parallel to one another, the male will hold on to the female with his teeth, often inflicting bite marks along the female's body.

Do baby sharks stay with Mom?

Once viviparous pups are developed enough inside the womb, the mother gives birth and leaves them on their own. Even though shark moms' responsibilities to their pups end when they give birth, Dr.

Do sharks eat their babies?

Shark embryos cannibalize their littermates in the womb, with the largest embryo eating all but one of its siblings. Now, researchers know why: It's part of a struggle for paternity in utero, where babies of different fathers compete to be born.

Which animal is pregnant the longest?

Elephants have the longest pregnancy period of any living mammal. If you – or someone you know – has experienced a pregnancy that seemed to go on forever, spare a thought for the elephant. It's the animal with one of the longest gestation periods of all living mammals: nearly two years.

Do shark babies eat each other?

Although the sand tiger shark has two uteri and produces many eggs, each litter yields just two pups -- one from each uterus. That's because as the sharks develop their embryonic teeth, they start to eat the other embryos, killing their unborn brothers and sisters, as well as the unfertilized eggs.

How far away can a shark smell blood?

Sharks can smell blood from up to around a quarter of a mile away. When you smell something in the air, it's because scent molecules have dissolved into the wet lining of your nose. Smelling underwater is no different, except that the molecules are already dissolved in the seawater.

How do you call a baby shark?

We call baby sharks pups. Some sharks give birth to live pups and others lay eggs, much like a chicken!

Is Deep Blue shark pregnant?

Deep Blue has several crenulations between her white belly and grey back side, multiple pigmentation patterns across the gills, and unique fingerprints on the pelvic and caudal fins. She could've been pregnant - or naturally full - but only a blood test for hormone levels would confirm it.

Has anyone seen a shark giving birth?

A shark's tale: Scientists capture first ever image of the creature giving birth in the wild. The first ever record of an oceanic shark giving birth has been uncovered by scientists. The photo, taken off Malapascua Island in the Philippines, reveals the body of an elusive baby thresher shark emerging from its mother.

Do sharks lay eggs or give birth?

There are over 500 species of shark living in waters around the world and the majority give birth to live young. The remainder are oviparous, meaning they lay eggs.

Can sharks have twins?

Technically yes, they're all related, but according to NBC News, a 2013 study found that a single litter of shark pups can have anywhere from one to five dads — so at least some of the time, they're only half-siblings.

What eats a shark?

Animals that eat sharks include orcas, other sharks, humans, and giant groupers. Sharks that eat other sharks include great white sharks, bull sharks, and tiger sharks.

Do sharks fart?

We've all seen tiger sharks in aquariums just hanging there, unlike most sharks which would sink, well this is their secret! They let air out in the form of a fart when they want to lose buoyancy.

Do baby sharks bite?

None of these species directly attack human. If they bite you for any reason it would be your fault that you made them confused. If you throw some food that they love, such as fish cuts, on your feet don't expect them to bite only the food.

How can you tell if a shark is pregnant?

The only ways to confirm white shark pregnancy is by detecting pregnancy hormones indicators in their blood stream or identifying embryos or eggs via an ultrasound - both are very difficult processes to do with plump white sharks!

Do sharks change gender?

Other scientists believe that the big sharks, like some other species, change sex when they reach a certain size: males become females. The switch may ensure survival by allowing the largest, most experienced sharks to give birth to young.

How do sharks sleep?

Whatever method they use to breathe, sharks are able to engage in periods of deep rest while still but do not fall asleep in the traditional sense. Lacking eyelids, their eyes remain perpetually open, and their pupils still monitor the motion of creatures swimming around them.

Do sharks have bones?

As sharks are cartilaginous fish they have a skeleton that is made from cartilage rather than bone. In fact, they don't even have a single bone in their bodies! Cartilage is a tissue that is softer and more flexible than bone.