First ever recording of leopard sharks mating in the wild reveals ‘threesome’

The video is believed to be the world’s first observation of leopard sharks mating in the wild. Hugo Lassauce/UniSC/Aquarium des Lagons

Endangered leopard sharks have been observed mating in the wild for the first time, with scientists witnessing a “threesome” involving two males and a female.

The encounter was filmed by Hugo Lassauce, a marine biologist at the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia, and documented in a research paper published in the Journal of Ethology on Thursday.

Lassauce told CNN that mating events are rare to witness in any shark species, and researchers have only previously seen courtship interactions, where a male chases after a female, but not the act itself.

Leopard sharks, or Stegostoma tigrinum, are found in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacif