Facts About Sharks

chapter 7

Shark Facts #39. Recreational shark fishing, which has become a large threat to the shark population, wasn't popular until 1975. After the premiere of Jaws, people wanted to snag a "man-eating" great white.
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Shark Facts #38. Blue sharks are piggy eaters. They'll keep eating until they regurgitate, after which they go back to eating!
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Shark Facts #37. Like lions on land, sharks are at the top of the food chain in the underwater jungle, and their eating habits affect the populations of all sea life below them. Without large sharks, octopus populations would jump, which would then decrease the number of lobsters, since they are one of the octopus' favorite snacks.
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Shark Facts #36. When on the hunt, sharks stalk their victims, staying far enough away to be hidden, but close enough to strike when the opportunity arises.
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Shark Facts #35. Electroreception allows sharks to notice the smallest changes in the electricity conducted through saltwater. Blood in the water changes its conductivity. So, sharks don't see blood and attack: They sense and smell it.
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Shark Facts #34. Instead of closing its eyelids, a great white shark rolls its eyes into the back of its head when it attacks. This behavior helps the shark protect its eyes from debris and the thrashing of its prey.
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Shark Facts #33. It's possible that shark repellants could come from an unlikely source: magnets. Magnets in the water can interfere with a shark's electroreception. Don't just strap on some magnets and head to the beach, though. With current technology, sharks have to get very close to the magnets before they're affected.
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Shark Facts #32. You are more likely to be killed by a falling coconut than being killed by a shark. Roughly 150 people are killed each year by coconuts compared to sharks killing only 4-12 people a year. Coconuts are more dangerous than sharks!
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Shark Facts #31. Turkish car designer Kazim Doku designed a concept car modeled after the body of a shark. It's a hovercraft - after all, sharks glide through the water and don't clunk around on land - that won Audi and Milan's Domus Academy's 2008 Desire Design Competition.
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Shark Facts #30. Sharks can use heartbeats to track their prey. Sharks have nodules on their noses about the size of a pimple, called ampullae of Lorenzini. These nodules sense electricity, so the electrical pulses that come from a beating heart can act like a beacon for nearby sharks.