Atlantic Nurse Shark

Photo: Rafael de la Parra · CC BY-NC

The protected waters around Orango shelter dense populations of nurse sharks, which aggregate in the island's warm shallows during cooler months and are frequently encountered by divers resting under reef ledges in groups of 4 to 8 individuals. Their abundance here relative to fished areas is a powerful demonstration of what reef shark populations look like without exploitation. Night dives reveal their true activity level — mobile, purposeful, and effective nocturnal hunters of invertebrates.