Shark Bay

Shark Bay is an area of major zoological importance. It is home to about 10,000 [[dugong]]s ('sea cows'), around 12.5% of the world's population,<ref name="natstr">{{cite book |title=Nature's Strongholds: The World's Great Wildlife Reserves |last=Riley |first=Laura and William |year=2005 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, New Jersey |isbn=0-691-12219-9 |pages=595–596 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=icMuBQhW4vgC |access-date=12 July 2011}}</ref> and there are many [[Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin]]s, particularly at Monkey Mia. The dolphins here have been particularly friendly since the 1960s.<ref name="natstr" /> The area supports 26 [[threatened]] Australian [[mammal]] species, over 230 species of [[bird]], and nearly 150 species of [[reptile]]. It is an important breeding and nursery ground for [[fish]], [[crustacean]]s, and [[coelenterate]]s. There are over 323 fish species, many of them [[shark]]s and [[Batoidea|rays]].

Shark Bay is an area of major zoological importance. It is home to about 10,000 [[dugong]]s ('sea cows'), around 12.5% of the world's population,<ref name="natstr">{{cite book |title=Nature's Strongholds: The World's Great Wildlife Reserves |last=Riley |first=Laura and William |year=2005 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, New Jersey |isbn=0-691-12219-9 |pages=595–596 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=icMuBQhW4vgC |access-date=12 July 2011}}</ref> and there are many [[Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin]]s, particularly at Monkey Mia. The dolphins here have been particularly friendly since the 1960s.<ref name="natstr" /> The area supports 26 [[threatened]] Australian [[mammal]] species, over 230 species of [[bird]], and nearly 150 species of [[reptile]]. It is an important breeding and nursery ground for [[fish]], [[crustacean]]s, and [[coelenterate]]s. There are over 323 fish species, many of them [[shark]]s and [[Batoidea|rays]].

Some bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay exhibit one of the few known cases of [[Tool use by non-human animals|tool use in marine mammals]] (along with [[sea otter]]s): they protect their nose with a [[sponge]] while foraging for food in the sandy sea bottom. Humpback and [[southern right whale]]s use the waters of the bay as migratory staging post<ref name="natstr" /> while other species such as [[Bryde's whale]] come into the bay less frequently but to feed or rest. The threatened [[Green sea turtle|green]] and [[loggerhead sea turtle]]s nest on the bay's sandy beaches. The largest fish in the world, the [[whale shark]], gathers in the bay during the April and May full moons.<ref name="natstr" />

Some bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay exhibit one of the few known cases of [[Tool use by non-human animals|tool use in marine mammals]] (along with [[sea otter]]s): they protect their nose with a [[sponge]] while foraging for food in the sandy sea bottom. Humpback and [[southern right whale]]s use the waters of the bay as migratory staging post<ref name="natstr" /> while other species such as [[Bryde's whale]] come into the bay less frequently to feed or rest. The threatened [[Green sea turtle|green]] and [[loggerhead sea turtle]]s nest on the bay's sandy beaches. The largest fish in the world, the [[whale shark]], gathers in the bay during the April and May full moons.<ref name="natstr" />

=== Flora ===

=== Flora ===