Shark Soft Spots

There are two places that if you see a shark and it gets too close for comfort you can hit and they will go away and leave you alone. GUESS which ones!!!!!!!!

Why Sharks are the Apex Predators of the Ocean.

It goes without saying that sharks are dangerous, scary, intimidating, intriguing, mysterious, amazing, and captivating animals. But when you really look at a shark, their physical characteristics, the way they move, eat, and hunt, you can see why they are all of those previously mentioned adjectives and more.
Let's take sharks' skin first. It is covered with thousands of dermal dentricles which are like tiny little pointed knifes that are in one direction. Not only does this increase their speed and fluidity while swimming it also makes them dangerous to touch. If touched in the opposite direction of these dentricles, a person or animal can get cut and start bleeding. (Best to make sure that if you touch a shark you move your hand in the direction of left to right to avoid getting hurt).
Second, have you ever noticed how all sharks (no matter what species) have a distinct horizontal division of color on their bodies. The top half, where a shark's dorsal fins are located is usually a gray, blue, dark blue or black color. The bottom half of a shark, which is where a shark's pectoral fins are located is usually white or cream colored. This is why: when you look up at a shark, (i.e. you're below a shark looking up at it), the sun and the clouds camouflage the shark's light underbelly. When looking down on a shark (i.e. you're above a shark looking down), a shark dark skin is camouflaged with the dark ocean. This genius skin-coloring allows a shark to swim in the ocean undetected and to make it harder for prey to distinguish them.
Next, let's take sharks' eyes. Sharks have excellent night vision and they never have to blink because the surrounding seawater clears their eyes from any harmful bacteria. But what is most intriguing, is that when a shark attacks it's prey a protective cover immediately covers their eyes so that if their prey thrashes around and it hits one of the sharks' eyes, a shark won't get hurt or go blind. This protective cover is called a nictitating membrane, and seeing as most sharks use a "thrashing around" method to kill their prey, sharks probably get hit in the eyes quite often. Just another example of what amazing creatures sharks are.
Next, let's take a sharks' mouth. Sharks have more than one layer of teeth, usually they have three. The first row is what you would see immediately because it is the one that is up front. The other two rows are hidden towards the back of a shark's jaw; and they push forward when the front-row-teeth fall out. Think of it as an insurance policy. Sharks lose their teeth constantly; seeing as they don't have hands, shark's teeth are their main means of killing and cutting into their prey. Over time, their teeth lose their sharpness and also become loose due to them having to hold down their prey to feed. So nature built a survival mechanism of keeping extra rows of freshly-sharpened, strong teeth in storge, so that when a shark does lose some of them, they're immediately replaced.
It is amazing how every part of a shark was created for them to survive in a variety of situations and circumstances. They are so adequately equipped with whatever they need that it is hard not to admit that they are amazing creatures that should be respected. Their efficiency and precision explains why sharks outlasted the dinosaurs and why they are the rulers of the seas.
Here are pictures that show (a) shark's skin up close, the dentricles, (b) shark's eye being covered by the nictitating membrane, (c) shark's coloring, and (d) the three rows of teeth.

BAN SHARK FINNING

FINNING----the inhumane, cruel, horrific process of cutting sharks' fins off and then leaving the shark to die (whether by throwing it overboard, back into the ocean or on the shore). The shark either bleeds to death, suffocates and drowns (a shark has to constantly move in order to breathe), or gets eaten alive by other sharks.

Every year over 10 million sharks succumb to this awful death, all for a bowl of shark-fin soup. Hong Kong and China are notorious for this type of murder. Believe it or not, sharks feel pain. And whether or not you fear them, hate them, don't want to have anything to do with them, sharks DO NOT deserve this type of treatment. Thankfully, there are many campaigns against shark finning, and as more and more people discover this heinous practice, the more people are wanting to do something about it.

When sharks become extinct, the world will never be the same.

Hear me out. You have your normal food chain. Plankton, krill, and shrimp represent the bottom of the food pyramid. Then you have fish (all kinds). You then have seals, dolphins, whales (the non-baleen breeds). And finally at the top you have sharks.

                                                                      SHARKS
                                                     SEALS/DOLPHINS/WHALES
                                                              FISH (ALL BREEDS)
                                                     PLANKTON/KRILL/SHRIMP


It is common knowledge that when one of these kinks in a chain breaks off and becomes literally, extinct, the whole chain crumbles into oblivion. It is estimated that WE kill over 100 MILLION sharks a YEAR!!!! And just ask me how many people are killed by sharks a year...go ahead...I dare you to ask me.
Going back to the food chain, if sharks are destroyed, which at the rate people are going, it is very likely, seals, dolphins, and whales will over-populate, causing fish to become scarce. Considering the fact that fishing is a multi-billion dollar industry, I'm thinking that fish becoming scarce in all parts of the world would put our economy in an even deeper hole than it already is in. And certain countries, whose primary staple is seafood would suffer greatly.
Think about this: our world is 70% covered in water. 70%!!!! So if we disrupt the ocean's amazingly balanced food chain, we destroy our oceans...in other words, 70% of EARTH. When that happens, the remaining  30% won't last long.
To me, it seems that the act of killing a shark is equivalent to spilling hundreds of gallons of oil in the ocean. Both will cause horrific and irreparable consequences, and if we do not educate ourselves and become aware of the consequences of our actions, there is a very strong possibility that we will destroy our beloved world.

Celebrities help raise shark awareness!!!!

I was browsing the internet when I came across this article.
http://justjared.buzznet.com/2011/06/24/leonardo-dicaprio-save-the-sharks/

Turns out stars like LEONARDO DICAPRIO, MEGAN FOX, AND SCARLETT JOHANSSON care about sharks and saving our planet. It's nice to know that people who have so much money are putting some of it to good use.

What NOT to do in the ocean!!!

Okay people, here we go. Here are some rules that may seem obvious but surprisingly, many people make these mistakes and that's when they get attacked.
(Of course, there are times when a random incident will occur and a person who does "everything right" will get attacked, but the more you know about the environment you're in, the less you have to worry about and leave to chance and luck).
RULES OF THUMB:
1) Never go into the ocean with an open wound or if you are bleeding. Sharks can smell blood up to a mile away!
2) Do not wear any jewelry whatsoever. Even earrings, rings...etc. The jewelry will ultimately catch the rays of the sun which will create a glare that the scales of fish create when they swim. So by wearing jewelry, you're putting a bright red blanket in front of an angry bull so-to-speak.
3) Never swim around people who are fishing.Usually, there is chum in the water (a mixture of fish oil and blood) and whenever that is in the water, sharks will be on the prowl. Don't get in the way of their food.
4) Never swim alone. Obviously, if a shark is going to attack it won't really matter if there are two or three people together, however, another person can help save your life. It doesn't even have to do with sharks, at the very least, if you start to have a leg cramp another person near you can be a lifesaver.
5) It would be wise to stay OUT of the water at dawn and dusk. These are two times during the day when it is known that the majority of all shark species feed. My advice with this...just stay out of the water around these times.
6) Finally, do NOT get into the water when you are drinking and especially if you are intoxicated. Just mixing water with alcohol can be dangerous, and then when you add sharks into the mix, it's just not a wise idea.
***It is very important to remember that sharks can be scary and dangerous, but they need and should be respected. The ocean is THEIR home as well as all the other ocean creatures. So everytime we enjoy the ocean, we are visitors visiting a foreign place. Keep that in mind the next time you go out into the ocean. :)

Intro

First off, let me say, thank you to everyone who has taken the time to view (even if you just scan) my blog. I greatly appreciate it. Sharks are my most favorite animal in the world, and I spend whatever free time I have researching them and studying them. I try to read as much and watch as much as I possibly can about them and I think they are the most misunderstood and amazing creatures that we need to respect. I'm not saying they are cute cuddly creatures, however, they are NOT mindless-human-eating machines.
This blog will talk about types of sharks, what NOT to do when you go into the ocean, misconceptions vs. truths about sharks, and information about sharks.
Hope you enjoy!!!!!!
        Marissa