Similan marine life – leopard sharks

The Leopard Shark (aka Zebra Shark)

This is one of our favorite fishes and definitely one of the coolest things we see. Previous to our encounters with these fellers I had a fear of sharks (pretty natural).
Upon seeing them in their natural environment I realized how relaxed and placid they are. If you treat them with consideration and respect they will allow fairly close approach. A great way to get over your fears.

They are perfectly harmless as you can see from all these fish milling about – relaxed around the presence of a shark. The leopard tends to eat crabs, octopus and other benthic fish (sandy bottom dwellers) as demonstrated by the position of the mouth – on the underside, rather than the front.


These Sharks will also tend to rest on the bottom of the reef, apparently sleeping. They are just letting the current wash over them and their gills. They aren’t sleeping, but close – they are just resting.


I’ve never seen their eggs but apparently they lay the eggs and leave. Pretty common in sharks.

They are also primarily nocturnal
and the only time we see them moving during the day is usually because of some trigger – most commonly another diver.

As with all sharks, Leopards use a intricate sense that is related to electro-activities rather than smell or sight. So approaching a Leopard shark form the rear triggers a real sense of flight. They are best approached slowly and from the front.


Did you know this harmless shark that we see on most of our dive sites is endangered? I didn’t realize that until I was looking up information for this! But as it lives in inland waters and near reefs and how shark fins are so sought after (and the meat is used for shrimp feed!) this makes sense.

While these are common at many sites, the most frequent sightings are at Breakfast Bend, Christmas Point, Bon Soong wreck, Koh Tachai Pinnacle and Deep Six.