That’s right, it’s a he!
The rare Sea Dragon, found in nature only in the waters off southern Australia, became pregnant Tuesday, at the Georgia Aquarium, when a female transferred her eggs onto his tail. The pregnant male weedy sea dragon is now only the third of its kind in the United States to successfully become pregnant outside of its natural habitat.
So much is unknown about the creatures, including their mating routines, that a lot about the pregnancy remains a mystery. When the animals finally do mate, the sea dragons arch their tails and swim side by side until they latch onto each other before swimming vertically together during their version of a date. “When they’re courting they do a really ritualistic dance,” said Dennis Christen, assistant manager of animal care and husbandry, at the Aquarium.
Based on past experience, it is expected that only about 60 percent of the eggs will survive, and once the eggs hatch, the little babies will be on their own, with no parent training.
The eggs are expected to hatch in 4 to 6 weeks.
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