The habitat of sharks is diverse, they can be found in any ocean, sea and even in rivers and lakes. The water layer up to 100 meters deep is home to most of the sharks. They give more preference to warm waters, there is a richer food base, and the shark is a 100% predator. Humans often become victims of these predators. Most of the attacks are recorded in the USA, Brazil, Africa.
Types of toothy killers
Interesting facts have been discovered about sharks that lived thousands of years ago and were the ancestors of modern predators. For example, the found remains of one such predator allowed scientists to determine the average length of this individual - 25 meters. A small fishing boat could easily fit in its mouth.
The biggest shark is the whale shark, it reaches sizes up to 20 meters. It lives in the oceans in tropical latitudes. Interesting facts about the whale shark are known: despite its size, this predator feeds only on plankton and does not pose a danger to people.
Great danger to peoplerepresents the white shark. It reaches 11 meters in length and weighs up to 3 tons. Young individuals do not attack humans, they feed only on fish. The speed developed by these killers reaches 50 km / h. Everyone knows and interesting fact about sharks: they cannot stop and remain in constant motion, the only way they can saturate themselves with oxygen. The only bone tissue in a shark is the teeth. This predator has one dorsal fin and two pectorals.
As a result of research, interesting facts about the white shark have been revealed: it has hearing and smell. She is able to recognize the smell of blood at a distance of 5 kilometers. The bite force of such a killer is 30 tons per 1 cm2. She got her name because of the snow-white belly. The white shark's appetite can hardly be called moderate; in a year it eats more than 10 tons of flesh. But sometimes the predator itself can become someone's dinner. Killer whales attack old or sick individuals. The sperm whale is also not averse to eating shark meat.
Thanks to the study of the deepest places in the oceans, the most interesting facts about the shark have appeared. It turned out that at a depth where light does not pass, in a zone of constant darkness, bottom sharks live, which have learned to move along the bottom using their pectoral fins. To attract prey, predators use light spots on the body.
The role of the shark in nature
This toothed predator is a population regulator and orderly. Like many predators, the shark breeds slowly. This is how nature works, there is a balance. For example, grass grows quickly, herbivores -slower, predators - even longer, so that the food supply does not exhaust itself.
Underwater birds
The closest relatives of sharks are rays. They also do not have bones in the body, their skeleton is cartilaginous. Stingrays are predatory fish and can be dangerous to humans. Their formidable weapons are the thorn, poison and electric current. There were cases when a stingray thorn fell into a person's heart. One such tragic incident occurred on the set of a program.
Even ancient people made arrowheads from its thorn. As for the electric ramp, its discharge is not fatal, not a single case of death has been recorded. The most famous of all rays is the manta. Its weight can reach 2 tons. Their average size is 6.6 meters. Their movement resembles the flight of a bird.
More and more interesting facts about rays and sharks appear due to the emerging public interest in these ancient killer fish. And more and more often it is heard that these deep-sea predators are threatened by the danger that comes from human life. Unjustified in its futility and cruelty, the well-known driftwood soup causes a lot of trouble for environmentalists. Those, in turn, begin to be creative with the help of advertising campaigns and "troll" the fishing industry.
Interesting shark facts for kids
Oddly enough, but unusual stories about sharks can be found in police stations. There are cases when the contents of the stomach of a caught sharkhelped solve the crime. There were also finds more related to films about Jack Sparrow: barrels of gunpowder and cannonballs were found in the stomachs of sharks. Of course, many of the stories associated with this have already lost the line between fiction and reality. A person is always attracted by mysticism and mystery, and who, if not a shark, can challenge the title of the most odious person.
Manhunt
Shark attacks on people are extremely rare. There are sharks whose size does not allow them to cause serious damage to humans. Such predators are not classified as traumatic. Tiger and white sharks are considered man-eating sharks. This does not mean that they hunt people, and a person is their daily diet. In general, when attacking a person, the animal does not realize that it is a person or another living being in front of it. Due to its size and disposition, the shark is the dominant predator of the seas and oceans. That is why, meeting people on her way, she tastes them. This predator feels great even in fresh waters. The lion's share of fatal attacks on people on account of the bull shark.
Interesting facts about sharks can be heard on the coast of India. There, in order to taste human meat, the shark does not necessarily hunt for it. In India, there is no burial of the dead, the body of the deceased is burned at the stake, and the remains are lowered into the water, thereby making it possible for the bull shark to taste human meat. Without realizing it, this shark has become a kind of conductor of dead people from the world of the living to the other world. But in reality -coastal waters orderly.
Predatory instincts
The shark, like all predators, uses the effect of surprise and attacks suddenly, so it will not work to resist. Yes, and its size, and the strength of the jaw does not leave a chance. Man often meets with sharks, not because of the unbridled and promiscuity of this fish. A predator does not break into a person's house to take his life. People themselves share shark habitats: coastal waters, beaches. Surfers, fishermen, scuba divers often, without realizing it, provoke sharks. A shark is like a wolf in a forest: when you meet it, there is little chance of getting away alive. If a predator has reduced the distance and is in the visibility zone, this means one thing - he wanted to do it himself and will attack.
Many stories go around that dolphins came to the aid of people when they were attacked by a shark. Dolphins stay in packs, so they can resist the predator. Dolphins often fight sharks to protect their young.
Is the devil as scary as he is drawn?
According to statistics, there are no more deaths from attacks of a toothy predator, in fact, than when playing football. The shark, despite its formidable appearance, is a coward. If we continue her comparison with a wolf, then in this they are similar. The wolf is cowardly and cautious. So, for example, when breeding a German shepherd, they used the blood of a wolf in order to add cunning and caution.
Sharks have been living for many millions of years, and there are still many amazing mysteries about the life of these marine inhabitants to be revealed.
