Creature Feature: The mighty shark!

By Lennon Griffiths, Year 7

Sharks are wonderful creatures and sea life wouldn’t be the same without them. They are the monsters of the deep, that strike fear with just their name.

However, they aren’t the brutal beasts you may think they are. Sharks are actually quite gentle and without them the food chain would be disrupted. Smaller fish would struggle to survive and lots of species of fish would become extinct.

Another fact about sharks that shows they are gentler than movies show. In fact more people are killed by cows every year than sharks!

Life cycle

A shark starts off its life unlike other fish. It is born live whereas other fish emerge from eggs laid by the mothers.

Sharks hunt and stay by their mothers till they are old enough to fend for themselves. Although sharks may seem kings of the ocean it is very dangerous for them as they are hunted by killer whales and are very weak at a young age.

Sharks can be killed if you pull their tales backwards as they die when water enters their gills too fast.

Food

Sharks eat other fish, however some types of sharks are herbivores - they eat under water plants like kelp and sea grass! The bonnethead shark and the basking shark are both herbivores.

Larger species eat sea lions and other marine mammals, but they NEVER purposefully hunt and eat humans. A shark only attacks humans if they are curious or are confused and mistake them for seals. The International Shark Attack File (ISAF) confirms that only 57 unprovoked sharks bites have happened in 2020 and only 10 were fatal.

Conclusion

You should never be afraid of sharks despite what tmovies tell you, but you must never hunt, kill, tamper or feed dangerous types of sharks like bull sharks, tiger sharks or great whites, not only for your safety but for the shark’s as well. I myself have dived with sharks and have grown quite fond of them!our ecosystems.

You should never be afraid of sharks despite what thme ovies tell you, but you must never hunt, kill, tamper or feed dangerous types of sharks like bull sharks, tiger sharks or great whites, not only for your safety but for the shark’s as well. I myself have dived with sharks and have grown quite fond of them!

Sharks are in danger of extinction. This would destroy our ecosystem, please help save these wonderful creatures. Find out more at sharktrust.org. #SAVEOURSHARKS

Image by Alex Rose on Unsplash