In the short time that I've been in this field, I have to admit that I've been pretty lucky to work with some really cool (and various) species. Birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, invertebrates, mammals...I love them all! With that being said, I've also had to learn that not everyone views these fine critters in the same way that I do. Before you read any further, I realize that not everyone agrees on certain things, but there is a fine line between opinion and ignorance. There have been several times where I had to hold my tongue at work because of all the close-minded and terrible comments that have been made pertaining to the animal I'm teaching about. Of course, most of it is simply a misunderstanding and that's what my job is for, but people can be straight up rude when voicing their opinions. What comments am I referring to? Oh you know, the stereotypical "The only good snake is a dead snake!" and "What's the best way to kill an alligator?" are some that I hear. The MOST popular comments, however, are the ones in reference to sharks and how they are "terrible man-eaters" and "serve no purpose on the Earth". Yep. They totally said that.
People can be straight up rude sometimes.
For today's topic, I would like to not only clear up some common misconceptions about "scary species", but share how they do indeed serve a purpose in the thing we call the Circle of Life.
Ever since I put on my environmental educator cap I've had to clarify the whole "sharks like eating people" rumor to loads of visitors. If you've ever worked at a facility such as a natural science center/zoo/aquarium, then you most likely feel the same pain, even if it's not towards sharks. Don't get me wrong! One of the best parts of my job is being able to reach out to guests and educate them on wildlife conservation and clarify any misconstrued information. In a perfect world, I would present a topic on "scary species" such as a snake, alligator, or shark, and I would get a response such as "Oh my gosh! I never knew! That's interesting. Have a great day!"...but let's be honest here. This doesn't always happen. People nowadays normally draw their information from social media, fictional television, etc. and come into the facility already close-minded. Most people don't take the time to look at the FACTS, or they can't distinguish between what's real and what's not because they jump to conclusions. I mean, if they said it on Shark Week then it MUST BE TRUE, right??
WRONG. To save some time and energy, I'll focus on the most popular "scary species": sharks. To start, here are some really interesting facts about them that you may or may not already know:
Cut them some slack guys. I mean, he never even KNEW HIS FATHER!
1) They are fish. They have all of the characteristics! They have gills and fins. However, instead of having the "fish scales" that we would typically think of, they have these tiny teeth on their skin called dermal denticles. In fact, if you rub against these denticles they can be quite sharp!
2) A toaster is more likely to kill you than a shark. True story (look it up). In fact, only 10% of the VERY FEW amount of shark attacks are actually fatal.
3) Ever wonder why a hammerhead has such a weird shaped...well...head? It's because the head, or the cephalofoil, is used to better sense and trap their favorite food (which are rays, not people...duh). They have these jelly-filled sacs (ampullae of Lorenzini) used to pick up electrical impulses from other organisms. Cool, eh?
4) Sharks go through THOUSANDS of teeth within a lifetime!
5) The biggest shark, the whale shark, weighs in at over 27 metric tons and can be as long as 41 feet! The best part? They eat the wimpiest food. Plankton.
CURSE YOU WHALE SHARKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Common Misconceptions About Sharks:
1) They eat people
If I had a dollar for every time I heard this, you could call me jungle...cuz I'd be makin' it rain. (I just came up with that...you dig?)
Welp, here we go. Sharks do not "eat" people. When the VERY RARE shark "attack" DOES occur, it is very rarely fatal. Sharks have sharp teeth. They are a top predator. They can potentially cause a lot of damage. That is what they are designed to do. They are not "out to get us". We are not on their menu. So why do they bite?
Sharks have 6 senses. The first sense they rely on is sound. They can feel vibrations in the water and if screaming children are splashing/flailing around, it could potentially sound like an animal in distress. At this point, a shark may come closer to check out the scene.
The next sense is smell. As a lot of people know, a shark can follow trails of blood for hundreds of yards. Lets say someone at the beach has a wound and is potentially bleeding while they are splashing around in the water having a good time. Probably not the smartest decision.
The next sense they rely on after smell is touch. Sharks have a lateral line that picks up vibrations, but it is kind of like touching things from a distance so a shark would need to be relatively close for this to be the most effective.
What's the next sense you say? EYESIGHT. Which is one of the most important things I would like to talk about. Sharks have excellent night vision, but during the day they can see up to about 50 feet away. They can get confused. Especially if you're a surfer and appear to be a seal lion/sea turtle from below.
After the sense of eyesight comes the coolest sense, in my opinion. Sharks use the jelly-filled sacs on their head (ampullae of Lorenzini) to pick up on electrical impulses in the water. This is how they can pick up on prey that may be camouflaged, such as a stingray hiding under the sand.
The last sense is, of course, taste. Up to this point, if a shark is still even interested in you, they may do the "taste test". Remember, we are not on a sharks menu. Bites are caused from confusion/protection. Besides, I'm sure that we taste terrible compared to what they normally go for. The problem here is that if a shark were to the point of a "test bite" and they do bite a human, it causes a huge uproar with the media and all of a sudden the "shark was out to eat someone". Let me ask you guys something...does a shark stick around to actually gobble up and eat a person, or do they "test bite" and leave? Hmmmm. Just something to think about.
Personally, I think of sharks as the dogs of the ocean. Okay, maybe they're not that cuddly.
2) They are all aggressive
There are actually only a few shark species that are known to be "aggressive". Some of these guys include the bull shark, the white shark, the tiger shark, and the great hammerhead. These species get an especially bad rep simply because 1) They are big. If someone is unlucky enough to get bitten, it's obviously going to be more dangerous based on their size alone, and 2) They are placed in more situations where more attacks can occur. For example, bull sharks venture in both fresh and salt water. This automatically puts them at the top of the list for the most "attacks" because they have more access to humans (aka they are more likely to be confused by our actions). Also, these are only a few out of HUNDREDS of known shark species. All I'm saying is don't judge a book by its cover. That's similar to folks claiming that all pit bulls and rottweilers are aggressive, which of course is not true. Yes, they can be trained to be aggressive, but they are not so without reason. Animals act out for certain reasons. Shoot, you guys should be more concerned about intraspecies aggression than a shark.
Road rage is way more terrifying.
3) There are tons of them out there
On average, we kill about 100 million sharks per year. Check out the link below to see a picture that will give you some perspective.
The main reason for so many shark deaths is due to shark finning. In this process, the fins are cut from a shark and the body is thrown back into the water (and it cannot survive after this horrific act). The fins are normally used for soup and as a thickening agent. If you'd like to see for yourselves, please watch the video below. Be warned though...it's graphic.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO7hvOtYnck
4) They serve no purpose
We already mentioned above that sharks are an apex, or top predator. What happens when you remove a top predator? The entire food chain falls apart. We have the power to rip sharks out of the ocean by the millions, but they don't have the ability to reproduce quickly enough to make up for the loss. The ecosystem is then left in a very fragile state. Species that sharks prey upon get out of control (such as stingrays), which then feed on other species and reduce their numbers. You get a loss of biodiversity. Less biodiversity-->unhealthy ocean-->no seafood/resources for us-->no life, period. That may seem a little dramatic, but it's true. People don't want to accept that because it's overwhelming to think about. Killing sharks because they are a "scary species" does not solve our issues. They, like everything else, serve a purpose, no matter how great or small. By the way everyone, I didn't write this post to make you into a shark lover, although I hope that you have a greater appreciation for them. I simply wrote this to give you a different perspective. It is understandable why folks should be fearful based on what we've been exposed to. Yes, like many other things, sharks are potentially dangerous and they need to be respected, but so many other things are more threatening than sharks (texting and driving *cough cough*). We need to focus our energy in the right place and stop regarding the "scary species" as being "mean" and "out to get us". In fact, sharks are way more scared of us than we are of them (as they should be since we kill millions per year, which is equivalent to about 11,000 per hour).
As someone that has grown up by the ocean and SCUBA dives with these amazing creatures, I have never felt threatened. Not even once. If anything, I wanted THEM to come closer to ME just because they were so fascinating. It is so humbling to be in their environment. They are definitely an underappreciated species. I don't want to get all sappy on you guys, so I'll stop while I'm ahead. Like I said before, the point of this post is not to make you into an avid shark lover that rides them like a majestic unicorn into the sunset (although I would totally do that), the point is to help you understand the facts. Sharks are not evil villains. If anyone is the villain in this situation, it's us. Please feel free to repost this/share with someone who may be misinformed about these guys! Until next time.
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