So, this is interesting.   Last week, it was confirmed that a shark in a Virginia aquarium gave birth to a pup without having been impregnated by a male.   Yes, that’s right.   Last week, there was a virgin shark birth.

Now, obviously the theological implications of this are staggering, but let’s stick to the science first.   This is actually the second documented case of this happening, according to the AP via MSNBC, as this has happened in a zoo in Nebraska, as well.   The pup in Nebraska, upon being born, was immediately eaten by a larger shark in the tank.   True story. As the article says,

‘By the time they could realize what they were looking at, something munched the baby,’ he said of aquarium workers. The remains of the pup were used for the DNA testing.

In this new case, the mother died before giving birth, but the autopsy revealed the baby shark, almost brought to term.   So, really, maybe virgin birth is the wrong term…but virgin conception, I suppose, works.   Anyhow, the article I linked to above has more of the science stuff in it, so I’ll spare you more details.

I think I’ll also spare you any theological discussion of this, mostly because I’d rather not get zapped by a lightning bolt as I walk to the bus today.   However, I will tell you to takepart and visit Greenpeace’s ocean page to see what you can do to help protect our waters.