For a very long time, sharks have been terrifying to so many people, legends have made about them, which is why we have come up with some interesting facts about sharks.
1. Sharks have inhabited planet Earth for approximately 400 million years. That’s 200 million years longer than dinosaurs, roughly 2000 times longer than humans and before trees existed. In total, sharks have survived five mass extinctions.
2. While most people are scared of sharks and consider them the world’s deadliest animal, the chances of being killed by a shark are hundreds of times less than the chances of being killed by bees or dogs.
3. More people are killed in the world by getting hit by coconuts than shark attacks.
4. Most sharks prefer to hunt alone, but there are exceptions, such as hammerhead sharks can be seen gathering together in large schools during the summer migration, sometimes reaching hundreds of individuals.
5. Adult great white sharks can consume approximately eleven tons of food a year.
6. Shark fin soup in China is considered an exclusive delicacy, a luxury item embodying notions of hospitality, status and good fortune and is usually served at weddings or anniversaries.
7. Sharks never stay in the same place, they travel hundreds of miles every day in search of food.
8. Shark’s teeth don’t have roots to hold them in place and therefore usually fall every few days. Also, depending on the species, sharks may have up to 15 rows of teeth in each jaw.
9. Although sharks have several rows of razor-sharp teeth, they do not chew food. Shark teeth are adapted to tear the meat, which they swallow in large pieces.
10. Sharks don’t have bones. Their skeletons are composed entirely of cartilage, like human noses. So when the shark dies, the seawater completely dissolves the entire body, except the teeth.
11. The Aztecs attached chili peppers to the canoe because they believed it would scare away sharks.
12. Unlike humans, who have fixed jaws, sharks can dislocate their upper jaws to grab and hang onto prey.
13. Sharks are excellent predators, they can feel the heartbeat of even small fish a few meters away and a drop of blood in the Olympic pool.
14. Scientists have found many amazing things in the shark’s stomach, from stones to kitchenware and car license plates.
15. Most sharks live up to 25 years old, but some can even live up to 100 years old.
16. Humans are a greater threat to sharks not the other way around. Many species of sharks today are threatened with extinction and every year fishermen catch up to ten million of these amazing creatures.
