Ocean Predators Page #4

The night transforms everything above water,

but this change is even more apparent

beneath the water's surface.

Whilst humans tend

to sleep during the night,

many of our dangerous predators

are vivacious at this time of day.

There are, of course,

lots of reasons to hunt at night.

The most important reason

is that most of the prey fish

are inactive at night.

This makes them easy targets to catch.

Furthermore, sharks are not able to sleep,

at least not in the way

we human beings are familiar with.

Sharks sleep in a way that

they switch off all unnecessary functions,

and just float slowly through the water.

A similar pattern

can be observed in dolphins,

who only sleep with one half of the brain.

Their slow floating

is important for their survival,

because their breathing

is based on the water's movement

through the shark's gills.

To catch as much prey as possible

many sharks go hunting at night.

Here their amazing sensory organs

are very helpful for finding their prey.

Whilst most fish, and other sea dwellers

are in sleep mode or in slow motion,

sharks are out on the prowl

trying to fill their bellies.

This shark certainly commands respect

in the area when he's on the prowl.

The reef's more modestly sized fish

do their best to hide,

but this shark doesn't give up easily,

and continues the hunt for his next victim.

Gliding and darting close to the reef.

The movements of these predators

are graceful, yet aggressively focussed.

Their appetite is never fully satisfied

and their search for food is a pursuit

which fills their every living moment.

Let us make use

of the dark and quiet of the night,

and accompany our friends for a while

during their night dives

and their search for food.

This parrot fish has the ability

to alter his skin pigmentation

in order to blend into the background

making him harder for predators to spot.

The shark's quest for food isn't over,

and he continues to stalk the waters

for his next meal.

The variety to be observed

in the ocean is incredible,

and some fish bring

a welcome glimpse of beauty

to this sometimes savage

and unforgiving food chain.

And now we have come to the three finalists

in the battle for the title of

our oceans' top predator.

The tiger shark, the bull shark

and the great white shark.

The tiger shark

can reach up to 18 feet in length.

That's almost as tall

as three basketball players

put on top of each other.

But the tiger shark is a proper heavyweight.

Tipping the scales at almost a ton,

he can be as heavy as 30 reef sharks.

The tiger shark's home is the lndo-Pacific,

especially Oceania,

but also The Bahamas

near the Gulf of Mexico.

He is feared by his

victims and competitors, alike,

when moving through his territory.

When a diver meets a tiger shark,

he's instantly fascinated by its size

and its fearsome stature.

People tend to fear this particular predator

because it enjoys being near

beaches and around murky waters.

Thus, encounters with

swimmers and surfers are bound to occur.

It has an incredible nose

that is capable of smelling blood

even from miles away

if the current is right.

The tiger shark has small pits on the snout.

It holds electroreceptors

called ampullae of Lorenzini

which enable him to detect electric fields,

although it's a lot weaker

than the hammerhead's Lorenzini ampullae.

The tiger shark never intentionally

seeks to attack humans.

But he is still known as

the vampire of the sharks

because as soon as it gets a taste for blood

it gets into a blood rage.

These sharks have even been known to eat

waste in the water when they are in a rage.

With theirjaws

they can break the shells of turtles.

Additionally, the tiger

shark has no difficulty

in attacking extremely

large creatures.

It doesn't even flinch

from the giant manta ray,

which can be up to 19 feet wide.

The tiger shark can be a real killer,

and that is why it's in third place

of our competition,

Underwater Predators.

The bull shark occupies the second place

in the competition for

the most dangerous animal in the ocean.

The label "bull" is

very appropriate in this case.

This shark, when it is in a rage,

can be the most aggressive

of all sea creatures.

That's because of the shark's

enormous testosterone level,

and because they

can be found in brackish water

in rivers far away from the ocean.

This, combined with their

bite force of up to 6,000 Newtons,

means there is nothing which can

compete with the bull shark.

Along with the

white shark and the tiger shark,

the bull shark is among those shark species

responsible for the most attacks on humans.

The international Shark Attack Files

of the Florida Museum of Natural History

describe 91 unprovoked attacks

and 26 deaths since 1950.

It is believed that many of the killings

that are attributed to the white sharks

have actually been carried

out by bull sharks.

The confusion is not surprising,

because, first of all,

the two species look quite similar,

and, secondly, it is unlikely that

anybody would remain calm enough

whilst being attacked

by a lightning fast bull shark

to remember the

specific characteristics of the attacker

and report it afterwards.

A bull shark usually enjoys

spending time in the shallow water

near shores and in river mouths.

Even in a calm sea,

underwater visibility is greatly limited

due to swirling sand.

These conditions are perfect

for this lightning-fast killer,

whose sensory organs have fully adapted

in order to hunt in complete darkness.

It's virtually tailored diving suit

is a great advantage

when it comes to hunting.

Its skin is studded

with millions of small teeth,

which greatly reduce frictional resistance

and help the shark swim faster.

In Africa, Central America

and South America,

the bull shark can even be found

far into the heartlands,

in lakes and rivers

such as Zambezi, Mississippi, Amazon,

and lsabel lake.

This means that not only does

it dwell in brackish saltwater,

but also in pure freshwater.

This wide and flexible hunting territory,

enables the bull shark to

adapt to changing environments.

Because of this incredible ability to adapt,

a population of bull shark was

even found in the Nicaragua lake.

This flexibility is

what has enabled the

bull shark species to

survive for so long.

The bull shark is a huge heavyweight,

growing up to 13 feet in length

and weighing over 660 pounds.

When attacking prey,

it is confident and aggressive.

But don't be too afraid.

Bull sharks mainly feed on mussels,

rays, crabs, bonefish and other sharks.

Humans are certainly not on their menu.

And now we come to

the undefeated king of the sea.

The peak of evolution,

the absolute fighting machine.

It is, of course, the great white shark.

Feared by humans, more than any other form,

hundreds of legends and stories

have emerged about this wonderful species

of the world's oceans.

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