Sharks :: essays research papers

Sharks "It’s tail swayed slowly from side to side, pushing the hunters body through the murky water. All signs of motion were non-existant, except for the rhythmic movement of the water over the five gill slits on either side of it’s head. Slowly gaining speed, the shady figures unmoving eyes fixed on it’s target, a lost harbor seal pup. As the distance between the predator and it’s prey grew closer, the jaws of the massive fish drew forward, exposing nearly eight rows of razor sharp teeth. Strings of it’s previous meal hung in rows from between it’s teeth. Sensing danger, the harbor seal frantically tried to find a place to seek refuge, but it was too late. The jaws of the shark closed around the seal with an astounding 14,000 pounds of pressure, cutting the seal in half. The Great White shark claims another victim.1" Any one who’s seen the famous movie series "Jaws" may look at the Great White Shark in a similar manner. Perhaps it’s the way that Hollywood uses a mix of fact and fiction in the series. This may have frightened many people into hating the Great White for it’s ferocity. It might have also been the size of the shark in the movie that’s kept thousands of people off the beaches and out of the water. Better yet, it could have been the overall storyline: A Great White shark with an eating disorder and a taste for human flesh. Perhaps that’s what is keeping vacationers from grabbing their trousers and snorkels. Over all, there have been 1026 attacks on humans by sharks in the last ten years. Only 294 of these attacks have been linked to Great White sharks. That’s roughly the number of people who drown each year in swimming accidents. Of these 294 attacks, less than eighteen percent were fatal. Out of the eighteen fatal incidents more than seventy percent was contributed to loss of blood. This means that the shark didn’t kill the victim. The shark bit the victim and then released them (also known as the taste test). The shark samples the victim by nibbling on an appendage or two often resulting in a severed artery or other major blood vessel. Therefore, the Great White should be considered a mantaster not a maneater. This intrigued scientists considering the size of the sharks brain. The Great Whites brain is about one half the size of a dogs. Over seventy percent of the brain is used for tracking prey. The other thirty percent is used for body functions. Studies show that the sharks main purpose is to eat.