Ten on Tuesdays- Sharks!

In honor of my week in Panama City Beach, this Ten on Tuesdays is dedicated to sharks.

1.  Great white sharks and mako sharks are both warm-blooded fish.  Warm blood is one of the reasons that the Mako is also the fastest shark, capable of swimming up to 45 mph.

2.  Shark corneas can be (and are) transplanted to human eyes and now shark bone marrow is being grafted into human bones.

3.  There are over 400 species of sharks!  A baby shark is called a pup.

4.  It's not safe to stay in the sand!  In one 16 year period, 16 people in the US died from sand-hole collapses while only 11 died from shark attacks.  Your chances of being attacked by a shark is actually very rare.  You're more likely to win the lottery, twice.  In the past 50 years, 1,970 people in the coastal US have died from lightening strikes.  In those same states, 26 have died from shark attacks.  In 1987, there were 1,587 reported human-bites-human injuries in New York City.  That same year there were 13 shark attacks in the US.  Of course, as Peter Benchley, the author of Jaws, says, "None of which, to be sure, detracts from the ghastly, visceral horror of being eaten by a huge fish, but all of which should give some comfort to the recreational swimmer."


5.  The #1 shark I would not want to be in the water with is the bull shark.  They are the most aggressive and relentless of all breeds of sharks. They are nasty creatures, and they can survive in freshwater.  Bull sharks have been found cruisin' ~2,100 miles up the Amazon and ~1,700 miles up the Mississippi.

6.  The #2 shark I would not want to be in the water with is the Tiger shark.  They'r called the "Garbage Can of the Sea" because crazy things have been found in their stomachs, like pieces from a suit of armor, burlap sacks, and license plates.  They've even been known to eat each other in the womb.

7.  Scientists have traditionally called yellow "yum-yum yellow," because sharks seem to be attracted to it.

8.  Over 90% of shark attack victims are male.  Ladies, just for fun, when you're getting into the ocean look at the closest guy and say this, and then observe.

9.  The real-life Jersey Shore attacks of 1916 (4 attacks total, in a river; probably a bull shark) inspired Peter Benchley to write Jaws, a fictional account of a great white terrorizing Amity.  The novel was adapted into a movie, "Jaws," which started wide-spread fear and paranoia.  The effects of this panic have drastically reduced shark populations world-wide, and Benchley has said, "I couldn't write Jaws today... not in good conscience anyway."

10.  The International Shark Attack File officially investigates and records all reported shark attacks.  They currently have over 5,000 individual investigations dating all the way back to the 1500s.  Files include documentation, press clippings, photographs, audio/video, medical/autopsy reports, and information on the setting of the attack (time, date, water temp., etc.).  Annually, they release a report summarizing shark attacks for that year.  You can read the 2011 report here.

Why so much about sharks?  Growing up I wanted to study sharks and actually applied to UF to study ichthyology.  I never really loved biology though, so in the end I decided not to relocate to Florida to pursue a career that centered on it.  Love what I do now though so it all worked out, and I get to write these lovely, informative blog posts about sharks.