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The last thing that will come to your mind when you think of long island is baby sharks. However, this is exactly what the scientists have discovered off the shore of Long Island, New York's greatest South Bay, said the Wildlife Conservation Society's New York Aquarium this week. This nursery is a place for the sand tiger sharks to grow in their natural habitat, stay safe from their predators and eat well. "Only a handful of sand tiger shark nursery grounds have been identified, one of which is in the waters of Massachusetts," WCS said in a release, according to Washington Post.

These species were considered endangered by the national marine fisheries service when the researchers began tracking these sharks. Using the acoustic transmitters and tags, they discovered that the juvenile sharks often came to the coastal waters of New York to develop and feed, a scientist tells the New York Daily News. The scientist also added that the 15 sharks that have been tagged so far will help them understand the shark's habitat needs, where they go and how they can be protected.

It is very important to protect them because the habitat of these sharks receives plenty of boats, dredging and fishing, reports Discovery News. However, "the nursery is so close to shore waters that the heavy traffic could be keeping away the shark's predators," says a researcher. There is more research and evidence required to identify why the sand tiger sharks, considered as vulnerable and treated as "critically endangered" in various parts of the world, swim to Great South Bay, but "this habitat must provide food sources as well as protection from their predators," the researcher adds. "As long as such key components are met, the sharks will likely continue to return." There are only a handful of nurseries that are found for sand tiger sharks including the one off