Sharks are a vast family of fish that have lived in the waters for over 400 million years. But there still exists five secrets about these humongous creatures. Read more to find out.
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1. Sharks are not dangerous
At least, not as dangerous as they would have us believe. In 2020, there were 10 deaths from shark bites (Source: ISAF). In comparison, there are 25,000 deaths per year from dogs, 50,000 from snakes, and over 700,000 from mosquitoes. So, are you still afraid of sharks?
2. Sharks have to swim all the time, otherwise they drown
Well, some sharks, not all of them. The great white shark especially needs to swim all the time. But, why do they do this? Simply to be able to breathe! When it moves, it lets water in through its gills, which filter oxygen. No movement, means no water, leading to no oxygen. This is why it is always obliged to move even when sleeping.
3. Sharks are much older than dinosaurs
The first sharks appeared on Earth over 400 million years ago. By comparison, the dinosaurs were around 250 million years old.Today, there are nearly 500 different species of sharks, 143 of which are threatened with extinction, mainly due to human activity.
4. There are sharks the size of a hand
They are called lantern sharks (or dwarf sharks). They are about 20 cm long. But there are also big ones, very big ones, like the whale shark, which grows up to 20 m, or 100 times bigger. Imagine someone in your family 100 times bigger! That's humongous right?
5. Sharks have a sixth sense: electro-reception.
This is a radar located in the snout that detects the surrounding electric fields and allows them to spot prey without even seeing it. They also have an overdeveloped sense of smell. They can smell a drop of blood from 1 km away.
