Page 13 - World of Animals - Book of Sharks & Ocean Predators

The truth about sharks
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Tiger shark

The ocean’s deadly genius

Responsible for numerous attacks on humans,

tiger sharks are definitely deadly. What makes
them so dangerous is their intelligence, as they
seem to understand the seasonal movements
of their prey. Many shark species migrate and
the tiger shark is no exception. In winter they
flock to tropical waters, but explore more of the

coastline as the water warms in summer.
Travelling hundreds of miles, tiger sharks
visit the same areas year on year to take
advantage of different sources of food.
The tiny and uninhabited French Frigate
Shoals island chain in the middle of the
Pacific Ocean is one of their frequent haunts.

This area is populated by ground-nesting birds
like albatrosses and tiger sharks are experts at
snatching clumsy chicks that splash-land from
their fi rst fl ight.
Australia’s Shark Bay is another popular tiger
shark destination and other animals alter their
movements to avoid becoming shark bait.
Green turtles forage from the centre of lush
sea grass fields in winter, but stick to the edges

when sharks come along in the summer. Tiger
sharks are one of the only animals to prey on
adult turtles, so the turtles are constantly on the
lookout for danger when sharks are in the bay.
Dolphins and dugongs also make themselves
scarce when the sharks are around.

Great white shark

The most feared

creature on Earth “ When a shark gets

A popular misconception is that great whites hold of a human, it
are aggressive and seek out humans to attack,
but evidence suggests that sharks don’t go realises the contents
rogue or develop a taste for human fl esh.
Some believe that sharks mistake humans for in its mouth are bony
sea lions, their favourite prey animals, but this
is not the case either. When a shark attacks a and full of muscle and
sea lion it zooms to the surface and bites down
with extreme force. It’s typical for a great white
shark to approach a human at a leisurely pace often lets go”
and take a bite or two.
Sharks use their teeth like we use our hands
and biting an unfamiliar object is a great white’s GREAT WHITE SHARK
way of trying to understand what the object is.
Carcharodon carcharias
They are extremely curious and investigative Class Chondrichthyes
animals. When the mouth is open, the tooth
bed is pulled back and the teeth fl ex outward
by ten to 15 degrees. This allows the jaws to act
like a pair of forceps and inspect what’s in the
Territory Temperate seas
fi sh’s mouth.
Diet Marine mammals and fi sh
Sea lions are coated with insulating fat, which Lifespan Up to 70 years
provides a great white with twice the energy Adult weight 2,300kg
(5,070lb)
as ingesting muscle. When a shark gets hold of
Conservation status
a human, it realises the contents in its mouth
are bony and full of muscle and often lets
go. Unfortunately, at this point the damage is VULNERABLE
already done.
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