Tawny Nurse Shark

Photo: Luis P. B. · CC BY-NC

Tawny nurse sharks are resident at Cocoa Thila in unusual abundance, with 4 to 8 individuals typically resting on the sandy floor around the pinnacle base during daylight hours, sometimes in direct physical contact with each other. They are nocturnal hunters that use the suction feeding technique — rapidly expanding the buccal cavity to inhale molluscs, crustaceans, and small fish from crevices — and their daytime lethargy contrasts completely with the energetic hunting visible on night dives at the same site. As one of the larger sharks regularly encountered in an accessible shallow setting in the Maldives, they provide exceptional close-up photo opportunities for divers at any experience level.