List 1: Random Important Shark Details List 2: Shark Facts
List 1: Random Important Shark Details List 2: Shark Facts
List 1: Random Important Shark Details List 2: Shark Facts
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
<strong>List</strong> 1:<br />
<strong>Random</strong> <strong>Important</strong> <strong>Shark</strong> <strong>Details</strong><br />
• A shark is a kind of fish.<br />
• <strong>Shark</strong>s can be big or small.<br />
• In Hawaii, sharks are revered as reincarnated ancestors.<br />
• <strong>Shark</strong>s are found in oceans throughout the world.<br />
• Goldfish have a memory span of 3 seconds.<br />
• Jaws was a very popular film.<br />
• The origin of the word “shark” goes back to the German word “shurke,” meaning<br />
“villain.”<br />
• <strong>Shark</strong>s are loaners – and almost never seek the company of other sharks.<br />
• Many people fear sharks.<br />
• Since the year 1560, the International <strong>Shark</strong> Attack Files has recorded only 1,5000<br />
instances of actual shark attacks.<br />
• <strong>Shark</strong>s have many pointed, sharp teeth.<br />
• <strong>Shark</strong>s lose their teeth, sometimes tens of thousands of them, throughout their lives.<br />
• Thousands of books have been written about sharks.<br />
• Newborn sharks are not cared for by their parents – and often, are eaten alive by the<br />
parent or the other.<br />
• Large manta rays and giant squid are feared by many divers.<br />
• There are over 350 species of sharks throughout the world.<br />
• Some sharks are far larger than others.<br />
• A few sharks weigh under two pounds while some weigh over 5,000 pounds.<br />
• <strong>Shark</strong>s have been on earth for thousands of years.<br />
• <strong>Shark</strong>s have few natural enemies.<br />
• Many more people eat sharks than are eaten by sharks.<br />
• If you were on an ocean cruse, you would see many kinds of marine life.<br />
<strong>List</strong> 2:<br />
<strong>Shark</strong> <strong>Facts</strong><br />
• Bathers have a better chance of winning the Florida Lottery than being bitten by a shark in<br />
the state. *<br />
• All incidents are recorded as a bite, even if it’s a scratch.<br />
• To date, there have been no fatalities on Volusia’s 47 miles of beaches due to sharks. Most<br />
bites are small. However, there have been a few more serious injuries.<br />
• Volusia’s beaches have been labeled the "<strong>Shark</strong> Capital of the World," but this label does not<br />
take into account the sheer number of people who swim daily without incident.<br />
• An average of 10 million bathers visit Volusia’s beaches each year. Volusia County has more<br />
bather activity than any other beach in the state. * However, the most shark bites recorded in<br />
one year in the County was 22 in 2001.<br />
• Juvenile Black Tip and Spinner sharks cause the majority of bites. These young sharks are<br />
learning to find food and get disoriented when they get into the wave area near the beach.<br />
Once they bite a human, a warm-blooded animal, they quickly realize their mistake and let go.<br />
• The majority of incidents occur near the Ponce DeLeon Inlet and piers, where baitfish are<br />
plentiful. <strong>Shark</strong>s go to these areas looking for food. Accordingly, these areas provide the best<br />
wave action for surfers.
• Most shark bite victims are surfers who flock to the inlet.<br />
• Beach patrol officers are highly skilled. They are certified as emergency medical technicians,<br />
lifeguards and police officers. The Volusia County Beach Patrol is one of only 36 advanced<br />
lifesaving agencies in the United States.<br />
• Beach lifeguards are trained to look for dangerous marine life and provide warnings, if<br />
needed<br />
<strong>List</strong> 3:<br />
The history of sharks dates back millions of years. Mankind's fascination with sharks is<br />
a mix of myth and reality, fact and superstition, and it is punctuated with fear of the<br />
unknown. Divers appreciate sharks because sharks are intelligent yet primal predators.<br />
The excitement and adrenaline rush of observing these creatures in their natural<br />
environment keeps divers coming back for more. A little knowledge goes a long way in<br />
making shark diving a wonderful experience. Here are twenty of my favorite shark facts.<br />
1. Great White <strong>Shark</strong>s grow about 10 inches per year. Great Whites can grow to mature<br />
lengths of 12 to 14 feet.<br />
2. New teeth are constantly being formed in rows in a shark's jaw. <strong>Shark</strong>'s teeth are<br />
normally replaced every eight days.<br />
3. Some species of sharks can shed as many as 30,000 teeth in their lifetime.<br />
4. Whale <strong>Shark</strong>s have approximately 300 rows of teeth, with hundreds of tiny teeth in each<br />
row.<br />
5. Dried shark skin (shagreen) was used in the past as sandpaper. In Germany and Japan,<br />
sharkskin was used on sword handles for a non-slip grip.<br />
6. In 1937, shark liver oil was discovered to be rich in vitamin A. <strong>Shark</strong>s were hunted for<br />
the vitamin until 1950, when a synthesizing method was developed for vitamin A.<br />
7. The average life span of a shark is 25 years, but some sharks can live to be 100.<br />
8. The dogfish sharks are named for their tendency to attack their prey as a pack of wild<br />
dogs would.<br />
9. Great White <strong>Shark</strong>s can go as long as three months without eating.<br />
10. Not all sharks have to be in continuous motion to breathe.<br />
11. Bull <strong>Shark</strong>s can tolerate a wide range of salinity and are often found in freshwater<br />
rivers and lakes in Africa and South America.<br />
12. More people are killed each year by dogs, pigs and deer than by sharks.<br />
13. The Pygmy <strong>Shark</strong> has a maximum length of 11 inches.<br />
14. <strong>Shark</strong>s have no bones. A shark's skeleton is made up of cartilage.<br />
15. There are more than 340 known species of sharks.<br />
16. <strong>Shark</strong>s first appeared in the fossil record over 400 million years ago.<br />
17. A significant physical trait that separates a modern shark from an ancient shark is the<br />
protrusile jaw, which gives the modern shark more biting force.<br />
18. <strong>Shark</strong>s can generate about six and a half tons per square inch of biting force.<br />
19. A shark's skin is embedded with dermal denticles, which resemble teeth.<br />
20. The Shortfin Mako shark is probably the fastest fish in the ocean, clocked at about 60<br />
mph
<strong>List</strong> 4: (Optional)<br />
Common <strong>Shark</strong> Myths<br />
• MOST SHARKS ARE HARMFUL TO PEOPLE<br />
FALSE: Of the more then 350 shark species, about 80% are unable to hurt people or<br />
rarely encounter people.<br />
• SHARKS MUST ROLL ON THEIR SIDES TO BITE.<br />
FALSE: <strong>Shark</strong>s attack their prey in whichever way is most convenient, and they can<br />
protrude their jaws to bite prey items in front of their snouts.<br />
• SHARKS EAT CONTINUOUSLY.<br />
FALSE: <strong>Shark</strong>s eat periodically depending upon their metabolism and the availability<br />
of food. For example, juvenile lemon sharks eat less than 2% of their body<br />
weight per day.<br />
• SHARKS PREFER HUMAN BLOOD.<br />
FALSE: Most sharks don't appear to be especially interested in the blood of<br />
mammals as opposed to fish blood.<br />
• SHARKS ARE NOT DISCRIMINATING EATERS AND SCAVENGE THE SEA.<br />
FALSE: Most sharks prefer to eat certain types of invertebrates, fish and other<br />
animals. Some sharks eat mainly fish. Others eat other sharks or marine<br />
mammals. Some sharks are even plankton-eaters.<br />
• WHALE SHARKS, THE LARGEST SPECIES OF SHARKS, ARE VORACIOUS<br />
PREDATORS.<br />
FALSE: Whale sharks, which are the largest fish that ever lived, are plankton feeders<br />
like the great whales, thus the name.<br />
• THE GREAT WHITE SHARK IS A COMMON, ABUNDANT SPECIES FOUND OFF<br />
MOST BEACHES VISITED BY HUMANS.<br />
FALSE: Great whites are relatively uncommon large predators that prefer cooler<br />
waters. In some parts of their range, great whites are close to being<br />
endangered.<br />
• SHARKS ARE TRASH FISH.<br />
FALSE: <strong>Shark</strong>s are a critical part of marine ecosystems, a source for knowledge to<br />
help the human condition, and the basis of a valuable fishery.
• SHARKS ARE NOT FOUND IN FRESHWATER.<br />
FALSE: A specialized osmoregulatory system enables the bull shark to cope with<br />
dramatic changes in salinity -- from the freshwaters of some rivers to the<br />
highly saline waters of the ocean.<br />
• MOST SHARKS CRUISE AT HIGH SPEED WHEN THEY SWIM.<br />
FALSE: Although some sharks may swim at bursts of over 20 knots (23 miles per<br />
hour), most sharks swim very slowly at cruising speeds of less than 5 knots<br />
(5.75 miles per hour).<br />
• SHARKS HAVE PEANUT-SIZED BRAINS AND ARE INCAPABLE OF LEARNING.<br />
FALSE: <strong>Shark</strong>s' relatively large and complex brains are comparable in size to those<br />
of supposedly more advanced animals like mammals and birds. <strong>Shark</strong>s also<br />
can be trained.<br />
• SHARK MEAT IS POISONOUS TO PEOPLE.<br />
FALSE: Although there have been some reports of people being poisoned by shark<br />
meat, the meat from the majority of sharks is edible and delicious when<br />
properly handled and prepared.<br />
• ALL SHARKS HAVE TO SWIM CONSTANTLY.<br />
FALSE: Some sharks can respire by pumping water over their gills through opening<br />
and closing their mouths while at rest on the bottom.<br />
• SHARKS HAVE POOR VISION.<br />
FALSE: <strong>Shark</strong>s' eyes, which are equipped to distinguish colors, employ a lens up to<br />
seven times as powerful as a human's, and some shark species can detect a<br />
light that is as much as ten times dimmer than the dimmest light the average<br />
person can see.<br />
• SHARKS ARE HARD TO KILL.<br />
FALSE:<br />
Stress of capture weakens a shark, and so some sharks are easily killed in<br />
hook-and-line or net fishing.<br />
• A SHARK IS A SHARK IS A SHARK.<br />
FALSE:<br />
There is no "typical" shark. The more than 350 species all differ in habitat,<br />
lifestyle and body form.