Back tooth from an ancient Tiger shark. |
Southwest Alabama has recently experienced one of its worst
droughts in recent memory, but every dark cloud is said to have its silver
lining. The recent lack of rainfall has led to very low river levels, including
low water levels at the Sepulga River, one of Alabama’s top hunting grounds for
ancient shark teeth. With that in mind, my family took advantage of this prime
shark tooth-hunting weather and went looking for some ourselves.
On the afternoon of Sun., Nov. 13, my wife, our two kids and
I loaded up in my truck and drove down to the Bull Slough Bridge, which crosses
the Sepulga River near the community of Paul. Prior to our trip down there, I’d
studied up on how to “hunt” for shark teeth, so I gave my fellow hunters a
quick crash course on what to look for. Our technique was to be simple: We were
to look for “pot holes” in the bank that contained sandy deposits and look for
teeth that had become trapped in these holes.
We got to Bull Slough with about an hour and a half of
daylight left, parked under the trees at the end of the bridge and walked down
the boat landing to the river. The river was way down, and in most spots it
looked like the river was 12 to 15 feet across, much narrower than normal. What
water there was in the river was fast moving and cold.
Sepulga River on Nov. 13. |
Despite the low water level, much of the bank was hard to
navigate due to slick surfaces, steep banks and outcroppings across the path.
Much of this would have been underwater under normal conditions, which made it
prime real estate for shark tooth hunting. We began sifting through the sand in
the many “pot holes” we encountered even though I knew this area had been well
picked over by other hunters over the years.
We searched and searched and found all sorts of items
(pistol and rifle cartridges, old shells and small fossils), but no shark
teeth. However, after much careful searching, I eventually found a small shark’s
tooth about the size of a dime. Relieved that our search hadn’t been entirely
fruitless, I was still disappointed that I was the only person in the group to
find a shark’s tooth.
We made it a good ways down the bank of the river and
eventually turned back in order to get back to the truck before dark. On the
way back, we discussed the age of the tooth and how it had survived potentially
millions of years before falling into my hands. Later, I posted a picture of
the tooth on Facebook and a man who hunts for these types of teeth all the time
told me that it was the back tooth from an ancient Tiger shark.
In the end, how many of you have ever hunted for and found
ancient shark teeth? Where did you look for them? What methods did you use to
find them? Let us know in the comments section below.
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