Four blacktip reef sharks have been born at the State Museum of Natural History Karlsruhe. As the Natural History Museum Karlsruhe confirms, the female Karla gave birth to four live pups on 6 September 2026 after a gestation of around 14 months. Their father is Amadeus, who lives with Karla in the large reef aquarium.
Young sharks grow up behind the scenes
The team quickly removed the four pups from their parents’ tank to protect them from being eaten. They were moved to a spacious reserve tank in the vivarium’s basement. They are not yet on public display.
New additions to the population in human care
Staff had already suspected that Karla was pregnant. However, because Amadeus is 22 years old, the museum had doubts about whether offspring would actually arrive.
The museum describes the birth as an important breeding success and a contribution to the species’ reserve population in human care. It also highlights the threats facing wild blacktip reef sharks from coral reef decline, climate change and bycatch in gillnets.
