In honor of Discovery Channel's Shark week being this week, I’ve decided to write about these majestic animals and tell you about my top-five favorite sharks. Sharks are beautiful and graceful, while they’re often feared they also are some of the most interesting sea animals. These creatures are feared because of the number of attacks we see every year, which is actually not as often as you would think. On average, there are only about 16 shark attacks per year, with little of them actually being fatal attacks.
1. Great White Sharks
The great white shark, also known simply as a great white is a large shark which can be found in the coastal surface water of all major oceans. Great whites average about 15 feet long but can often grow up to 20 feet long, they also weigh in at around 5,000 pounds. They are top of the food chain and have few threats in the ocean. Great weights are also usually born in litters of two to nine! They are also on the verge of being marked as endangered due to overfishing.
2. Hammerhead Sharks
Hammerhead sharks are named for their unusual and distinctive shape of their head, which is flattened and laterally extended like a hammer. These sharks usually swim in schools during the day and hunt for food at night. They range from three feet to 19 feet in length. They live off a diet of fish, squid, octopuses and even other sharks. Stingrays are also favorite among these sharks. As of 2013, there have only been 33 documented attacks on humans from hammerheads, and there have been no fatalities resulting from these attacks. Hammerheads are marked as endangered.
3. Tiger Shark
The tiger shark is a relatively large macro-predator, capable of attaining a length of 16 feet and 5 inches long, they can be found in more tropical and warm waters. These sharks are nocturnal hunters who live on a diet of a vast majority of sea life. They are apex predators and have a reputation for eating literally anything, they are reported to be responsible for a large percentage of all fatal shark attacks. They are second on the list of recorded bites on humans, second to the great white. These sharks are considered a near threat species due to finning.
4. Bull Sharks
Bull sharks are considered extremely aggressive and live in warm shallow coastlines of tropical places. They can grow to be up to 11.5 ft and weigh almost 500 pounds. They are not bothered by brackish or freshwater and because of these traits are often considered the most dangerous in the world. They are third in the list of most recorded bites on humans.
5. Whale Shark
Whale sharks are the largest known fish species and are slow moving, filtering feeding sharks. They grow up to 47 feet long and weigh about 47,000 pounds! They feeding almost exclusively on plankton and are completely harmless to humans. This trait only occurs in two other sharks, the basking shark, and the mega mouth shark.
