3 endangered sawfish born at SeaWorld – the first successful captive birth of the species in the U.S.

3 endangered sawfish born at SeaWorld – the first successful captive birth of the species in the U.S.

By Caitlin O'Kane

Source: CBS News

10/18/2023

Credit: Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Three smalltooth sawfish pups have been born at SeaWorld Orlando, the aquarium announced. It the only aquarium in the U.S. to have the endangered species, SeaWorld said — and only one other aquarium in the world has welcomed a successful birth of the pups, SeaWorld says in a news release.

Two females and one male were born in July and continued to have regular check ups to make sure they are healthy. The fish look like small sharks and about 2 feet long at birth

While they have shark-like properties like fins and teeth and they belong to the fish group, elasmobranchs, which includes sharks, they are categorized as rays, according to SeaWorld.