Happy Shark Week!

  It’s the most wonderful time of the year… Shark Week! Now a world wide phemomenon, everyone settles around the TV to learn about sharks. I’m so glad that we have a week to raise awareness and celebrate these amazing creatures! In the spirit
of Shark Week here are some fun facts you probably didnt know about sharks:

1)What a mom! Whale Sharks can give birth to over 300 pups, this is huge compared to other species will that will have less than five.

2) Talk about an old movie! Sharks only have a single type of ‘cone’ photoreceptors, which means they see the world in black and white.

3) The grandpa’s of the ocean!These under water fishies have been on this planet for over 400 million years, the earliest sharks were found in the Devonian age!

4) Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. Many species of shark will die if stop moving.This is the case for great whites and mako sharks, they don’t have the muscles to pump water into their mouthes and over their gills. It is neccesary for them to constantly swim to survive.

5) Grease Monkeys! Sharks livers have massive amounts of oil, this makes their organ buoyant and helps sharks balance under water.

6) Did you know that bamboo shark pups imitate the appearance of dangerous sea snakes to scare away predators? That’s one smart baby.

7) Prowlers of the night! Sharks have the best night vision due to a membrane at the back of the eye, which makes them more perceptive to light.

8) Just like trees, you can tell how old a shark is by counting the rings on the vertebrae!

9) What a nose! Sharks can smell a single drop of blood in 1 million drops of water.

10) Unlike most sharks, great whites are warm blooded, and need to constantly eat meat to maintain its temperature. So not such a cold blooded killer after all...

   Now that we know these cool facts maybe we can learn to change our perspective. So that sharks aren't just evil killing machines, but humble majestic fish, that are pretty darn awesome. We need to actively use our compassion, to save this species so that we don't become those malicious murderers. It is time for humans to step up and make a difference. For our oceans and sharks, happy shark week.

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