Numerous teeth and fins are prominent traits of a shark, along with its great wide body. These carnivorous hunters are always seen at top of the marine food chain and have stayed king of the oceans not by idling and coming on prey headstrong, but by actually having a dynamic at work that makes their species great predators.
In celebration of one of Discovery Channel’s most
anticipated programming, Shark Week, here’s a rundown on why sharks are among
the ocean’s resident intelligent creatures:
SHARKS ARE STRATEGIC HUNTERS
Great white sharks have learned to use different hunting
strategies for different prey. At Mexico’s Guadalupe Island, white sharks have
learned to attack giant elephant seals from the rear to avoid their sharp
canines, and to retreat while their prey bleeds out to avoid a struggle. But
when attacking smaller harbor seals, they simply pluck them from the surface
and drag them down until they suffocate.
SHARKS LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES
Great whites aren’t born knowing how to hunt seals. They
have to learn. At South Africa’s Dyer Island, young great whites are often seen
clumsily attacking their prey, and usually missing. After years of practice,
they eventually “graduate” to hunting at nearby Seal Island, where old veterans
like Colossus have a 48% success rate when attacking seals at the surface.
Sharks don’t give up; they learn through trial and error.
SHARKS SOCIALIZE WITH ONE ANOTHER
Competition for prey can be fierce, so white sharks have
worked out a clever social ranking system to avoid costly fighting. Specific
behaviors like circling, fin flapping and tail thrashing are some of the ways
that white sharks have learned to establish dominance or contest kills without
resorting to violence.
SHARKS ARE CURIOUS, PERHAPS EVEN PLAYFUL
Sharks are curious creatures. They commonly approach divers
and boats to investigate in a non-threatening way. Sharks mouth or take test
bites of potential prey to get a better sense of what they are; in fact, most
sharks attacks are simply test bites. Sharks may also play; porbeagles
seemingly playing with kelp and driftwood, and great whites have been observed
tossing live seals repeatedly into the air.
SHARKS WORK TOGETHER
While we think of sharks as solitary creatures, they do
occasionally band together. Seven gill sharks work together to encircle their
prey; one will play decoy while another attacks from behind. Whale biologist
Peter Best reported seeing a group of white sharks working together to move the
carcass of a beached whale into deeper water so that they could more easily
feed on it, suggesting they also understand the basics of flotation.
Dive into the deep with a week of underwater discoveries in
Discovery Channel’s Shark Week featuring an awesome lineup of jaw-dropping
episodes this 23-29 July at 8:10 pm!
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