Grey reef sharks form long-term friendships, study reveals

Ocean predators form social groups sometimes lasting for years, scientists discover

Grey Reef sharks seen underwater in French Polynesia on 22 July, 2020. (GLOBAL FINPRINT/AFP via Getty Images)

Grey reef sharks work together and form social groups that can last for years, according to a study.

Scientists who monitored a shark population off the remote Palmyra Atoll, to the south of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, noticed the predators formed tangled webs of social bonds.

The shark would spend their mornings together as large groups, disperse throughout the day, before reconvening with their friends later on.