Da-dum, da-dum, da-dum, da- dum dadadadadada… It’s here! National Shark Awareness Day!
Did you know you are more likely to get killed by a cow than a shark? It’s true! About five people a year die due to shark attacks, whereas it has been reported that as many as 22 people are killed annually by cattle!
Sharks are predators just like lions and tigers, but are feared probably more than the carnivores on land.
Due to their frightening appearance (and non-cuddly exterior – like that of a tiger) humans are often less sympathetic when it comes to hunting these creatures.
In fact, using data on shark catches, researchers estimated that approximately 100 million sharks are killed per year by humans. However, they add that this is a conservative estimate, and the true number could be as high as 273 million sharks killed annually by humans.
Sharks are one of the most hunted predators, when in fact they are far from the most dangerous creatures under or above water.
Here is a few more facts about sharks that you can sink your teeth into:
- Sharks do not have a single bone in their bodies. Instead they have a skeleton made up of cartilage; the same type of tough, flexible tissue that makes up human ears and noses.
- Some sharks remain on the move for their entire lives. This forces water over their gills, delivering oxygen to the blood stream. If the shark stops moving then it will suffocate and die.
- Sharks have outstanding hearing. They can hear a fish thrashing in the water from as far as 500 metres away!
- If a shark was put into a large swimming pool, it would be able to smell a single drop of blood in the water.
- Although most species of shark are less than one metre long, there are some species such as the whale shark, which can be 14 metres long.
- A pup (baby shark) is born ready to take care of itself. The mother shark leaves the pup to fend for itself and the pup usually makes a fast get away before the mother tries to eat it!
- Not all species of shark give birth to live pups. Some species lay the egg case on the ocean floor and the pup hatches later on its own.
- Great whites are the deadliest shark in the ocean. These powerful predators can race through the water at 30 km per hour.
- Unlike other species of shark, the great white is warm-blooded. Although the great white does not keep a constant body temperature, it needs to eat a lot of meat in order to be able to regulate its temperature.
- A shark always has a row of smaller teeth developing behind its front teeth. Eventually the smaller teeth move forward, like a conveyor belt, and the front teeth fall out.
Check out this shark cage dive experience: Shark hungry or shark good Semeritan wanting to save a diver?
