Sharks don’t really have the best reputation, do they? For centuries, they have been seen as vicious, man-eating beasts. Movies such as Jaws and Deep Blue Sea have only perpetuated this notion to a far greater degree, leaving sharks with even more of a bad reputation than ever before. But all of the myths and legends surrounding these selachimorpha are simply not true. In actual fact, at the end of the day, sharks are nothing more than strong, curious sea creatures with really sharp teeth – teeth designed to help them eat their natural prey, not humans (despite what Spielberg may have you believe).
If you have believed the lies that Hollywood has been feeding us for all these years, and have been put off from something you have always wanted to experience, such as shark diving trips, continue reading this post. Below are ten facts that will change your perception of sharks as monsters – consider these, and you’re likely to want to get in that shark diving cage straight after.
- Great White Sharks are picky eaters. They tend to stay away from smaller prey that move to quickly, such as squid, and favour larger oceanic dwellers, such as seals. Interestingly enough, from just one bite, they can tell whether or not that meal with meet their nutritional requirements or not.
- The size of a shark is related to where they hunt their prey. Smaller sharks stay near to the ocean floor, while bigger sharks tend to frequent the middle and surface of the ocean.
- Sharks have excellent vision. They can see in murky waters because of a membrane in their eyes that make them more sensitive to light.
While every media release on shark attacks have been very dramatic to date, they are so rare that humans have a greater chance of being bitten by another human than a shark.- Most sharks are found in open waters as they are more likely to find bigger fish in abundance there than near the shoreline.
- Because sound travels so quickly and so far in water, sharks can very easily pick up the frequencies of schools of prey.
- Shark fin soup is a delicacy in China. However, the finning of sharks is responsible for a tragic 73 million shark deaths every year. There are thousands of fishing vessels around the world catching sharks daily deliberately for the shark fin industry. When a shark is caught the fishermen cut the fins off and then kick the still live carcass back into the water to endure a slow painful death. They throw the carcass overboard as the meat has little value and then they can stock more fins per catch.
- Humans are more likely to be killed by other humans, bees, wasps and dogs than they are to be killed by sharks.
- Great white sharks will actually drown if they stop moving.
Over 20% of sharks are close to extinction because of commercial fishing vessels who accidently trap sharks in their nets whilst trawling fish. Essentially, the bad reputation that sharks have has resulted in any conservation efforts being looked down upon. This is an unfortunate truth, as sharks are one of the world’s most majestic creatures. See for yourself by booking a diving trip with Shark Bookings. It will be a truly beautiful, eye-opening experience.
