Pregnant Shark Spotted in the Wild Sporting 'Big and Round' Belly

While diving off the coast of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, wildlife photographer Stephane Robert came across something unusual.

Swimming into view was a large gray reef shark, unlike any she had seen before. "Her belly was very big and round," Robert told Newsweek.

A shark specialist who was with Robert at the time estimated that the shark could be about five months pregnant, which is about halfway through the gestation period for this species.

Gray reef sharks can mostly be found around coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian oceans at depths of 0 to 164 feet. They are frequently found in the waters around Mauritius, a series of islands off the southeastern coast of Africa in the Indian Sea. The species grow to 6 to 7 feet in length, maturing at an age of about 7 years.

The sharks are viviparous, which means they give birth to live young instead of eggs. The species has a relatively long gestation period of roughly 12 months, and mothers tend to give birth to one to six pups in each litter.

Although gray reef sharks are often curious toward humans, Robert said these individuals were "very cautious," keeping their distance from the divers. While the species is large and strong, altercations with gray reef sharks are very rare, and only eight confirmed shark bites on humans have been recorded, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History's Shark File.

Robert shared his photos of the pregnant shark to the Shark Photography Group on Facebook, in a post that has received over 1,200 likes.

"A beautiful sight! The world needs more pregnant sharks!" commented one user. "Absolutely amazing photo," said another.

Because this species has historically been fished commercially and relies on an increasingly fragile habitat, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has listed gray reef sharks as being "near threatened" with extinction.

Robert is part of an acoustic tagging program for gray sharks in the waters around Mauritius to better understand their behavior and migration patterns. During his time as a diver, he has seen a marked decrease in their population.

"I've been diving since more than 40 years and so encountered many sharks dozens of times," he said. "Unfortunately, nowadays there are less and less sharks around Mauritius and specifically few species left to be seen."

Robert hopes that his photography will help raise awareness about these graceful animals and the precarious ocean systems that they call home.

"My entire life is oriented for protection of nature in general but more specifically marine ecosystems," he said. "I try to give some knowledge for people to learn [so they will help] to protect the marine life."