The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1900-11-18
COMPANION TO THE SHARK.
A Lit.le Pilotnsh Put Into the Tank
of q Big Fellow.

OF q Big FeIAOW.
The four footed sand shark exhibited
at the Aquarium, says the New York
Sun. behind glass in tank now has
new companion, or, rather, follower, In
the shape of a little pilotfish that was
taken with a hook and line on Sept. Z
at the fishing banks.
That it is the way of the pilotfish to
accompany sharks is familiar. Pilot
fish swim about with sharks, some
where near them, wherever they go,
sometimes departing from them in
search of food for themselves, but
commonly staying with them and
feeding, it may be, on scraps that the
shark leaves of fishes that it destroys.
Pilotfishes are often taken with
sharks. A fisherman who should find
when he hauled one Of his nets-as, in
fact, he might-a dozen sand sharks in
it would be likely to take 20 or 80
pilotfish at the same time. And the
capture of pilotfish would betoken the
neighboring presence of sharks. 1t is
probable that this little pilot lately re-
ceived at the Aquarium had strayed
from the side of a shark, attracted by
the bait of the hook upon which 1t
was caught.
In the sharks tank at the Aquarium
there are three yellow mackerel, two
of them sizable fish and the Other a lit
tie fellow six or eight inches In length,
which Is about the size of the new lit
tie pilot. 1t might seem as though the
little pilot would flock with the smaller
GCh hn CHOOSING
a companion the little one among
them, but in reality the instant the
pilot was dropped into the tank 1t
made straight for the shark, and 1t has
travelled with the shark ever since.
Commonly this pilot travels over the
| shark, sticking close to the tip of the
sharks dorsal fin, SO close indeed as
sometimes to touch it, and right there,
| for by far the greater part of the time,
the little pilot holds its place.
Wherever the shark goes the pilot
fish goes. The shark occupies double
tank, two tanks Joined in one by q
wide and high arch If the shark goes
| the length of both tanks before turn
ing in the other direction, the pilotfish
| goes too. If the shark should go sim.
| ply the length of one section of the
tanks and then turn, the pilotfist
| would hitch around with it there, keep
| ing all the time close to the tip of the
sharks dorsaL Sometimes the pilot
drops down the sharks side and swim:
along there for little. close to, abreast
| of the sharks midship section. Some
times when the shark swims low the
little pilot drops down lower still anC
| gives himself little rub on the grav
ely bottom of the tank. Parasite.
bother it maybe, and when its food /.
put into the tank the pilot will stop fol
that, but start when it has picked tha
up to catch up with the shark again
taking station, as it would after any o.
those other temporary departures from
1t, at the tip of the sharks dorsal fin.
And they make a wonderful pair
Swimming. as II does, at a point abou
midlength OF the sharks body and onl,
| just clear of the dorsal, the contrast a
to size between the shark and the littl
pilot Is as striking and effective as /
could be. In color the shark is of
light gray, almost uniform In shade
while the piletfish. banded as all pilot
are, has bands that are almost black
they are 30 strongly marked, and 8
the two present, as well as in size,
strong contrast in color and markings
One is big, the other little; one strone
the other weak. They couldn't b
much more unlike. But there they z
inseparable, the shark and the pilot