Ocean Animals People Fear: Sharks

There are some ocean animals people fear. They include sharks, stingrays, jellyfish, and sea urchins. This is the first in a series of four articles that will separate fact from myth, and give you some concrete advice to help alleviate any remaining fears you may have.

Photo courtesy of wikipedia. All rights reserved.

Sharks

What is a shark? Sharks are fish, but they’re not quite the same as most fish because sharks have no bones. It’s true. Sharks are boneless fish! Their skeletons are made of cartilage, a tissue that’s more flexible and lighter than bone. Your nose is made of cartilage. So, when someone has a “broken” nose, they haven’t broken a bone, they’ve broken the rigid, but flexible cartilage.

Shark Myths & Facts

Myth: Sharks deliberately hunt people.

Fact: Sharks almost always let go of a human after biting him or her. Scientists believe that sharks bite people out of mistaken identity: i.e., the human looks like something else to a shark.

Myth: Sharks eat people.

Fact: Sharks don’t seem to like the way we taste. The reason people are occasionally killed by sharks is because they bleed to death after a single bite. As you can imagine, a shark has to either have a really big mouth or you have to be really unlucky where you’re bitten to die from a shark bite.

Myth: You’re in danger from a shark attack every time you go in the ocean.

Fact: The incidence of shark attacks is very low and the chances of dying from a shark attack are even lower. These things are more likely to kill a person:

• Falling icicles
• Lightning strikes
• Bee stings
• Falling coconuts
• Vending machines

Myth: All sharks are big and have multiple rows of sharp teeth.

Fact: There are over 400 species of sharks. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes from 8-inch-long dogfish to 40-foot-long whale sharks (the world’s largest species of fish). Some, like whale sharks, are filter feeders who have tiny teeth that they don’t even use to eat.

Things You Can Do to Protect Yourself from Sharks

Don’t enter the water if sharks are present.

Avoid the water at night, dawn, or dusk. Also, avoid murky water.

Always swim in a group.

Don’t wander too far from shore.

Don’t enter the water if bleeding.

Don’t wear shiny jewelry.

Don’t go into waters containing sewage.

Avoid waters being fished and those with lots of bait fishes.

Don’t splash a lot.

Use care near sandbars or steep drop-offs.

Don’t relax just because porpoises are nearby.

Don’t try to touch a shark if you see one!

— Lisa Dworkin