I read something very interesting today. Turns out that there are many possible health benefits to many parts of a shark.
Research is showing that a shark's liver oil can be used in balms as a means of moisturizer and to prevent chapping. Scientists are also determining that it is possible that the liver oil may help heal canker sores.
Presently, in Europe, shark liver oil is being widely used in addition to traditional cancer treatments. It has been a debate as to whether or not certain parts of a shark can cure cancer and some countries are firm believers that a shark's liver oil is a definite component to defeating CANCER. Also interesting, research is showing that shark liver oil may also protect against as well as speed the healing of colds, the flu, and various minor skin infections!!!
Who knows, with more research, scientists may be able to help heal and slow down certain ailments and diseases that humans are infected with from time to time. The only way we will know though is by KEEPING SHARKS ALIVE!!!!!!!!!!
The Great White Shark
The Apex Predator Of The Sea
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
You have a better chance of......
Did you know you have a better chance of getting struck by lightening than getting attacked by a shark??
You have a better chance of getting stung by a bee or a wasp than getting attacked by a shark.
You have a better chance of getting attacked by a dog, a lion, a tiger, or a bear than getting attacked by a shark..
You have a better chance of getting in a car accident than getting attacked by a shark.
INTERESTING FACT: falling coconuts kill 150 people worldwide each year, which is 15 TIMES GREATER than fatalities attributed to shark attacks. Looks like we need to be more scared of falling coconuts rather than sharks :)
You have a better chance of getting stung by a bee or a wasp than getting attacked by a shark.
You have a better chance of getting attacked by a dog, a lion, a tiger, or a bear than getting attacked by a shark..
You have a better chance of getting in a car accident than getting attacked by a shark.
INTERESTING FACT: falling coconuts kill 150 people worldwide each year, which is 15 TIMES GREATER than fatalities attributed to shark attacks. Looks like we need to be more scared of falling coconuts rather than sharks :)
Sunday, August 28, 2011
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.
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.
Monday, August 22, 2011
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.
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.
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.
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.
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