Ocean Predators Page #5

And that's no wonder.

If you happened

to come across a great white shark,

it would be etched in your memory forever.

Whether it be near the water's surface,

or deep beneath the waves,

it is clear that these animals

are well honed killing machines.

Their impressive stature

and confident movements, alone,

are usually enough to show

the other creatures who the boss is.

But let's take a look at the great

white shark a little more closely.

The great white shark

with its length of 21 feet

is not only among the largest, but also

among the heaviest predators on earth.

The most impressive feature

of the great white is its biting power,

which measures around 18,000 Newtons.

Ten times stronger

than the biting power of a lion.

This gives the great white shark

the most powerful bite in the animal world.

The great white shark

owes its name to its white belly.

Its white belly and the dark back

act as camouflage for the creature.

The colour mixture on the skin of the shark

make it extremely difficult

for it to be detected by its prey.

This makes it possible for the shark

to attack at close range.

White sharks usually attack

from below and from behind.

They sneak up on their prey

until they are close enough

to spring a surprise attack,

so that the victim has

no opportunity to flee.

But speed is only one component

of the shark's hunting success.

The great white's teeth are the main reason

for its recurring victory sprint.

Humans' fear of sharks

existed far before the movie, Jaws.

In the 16th century

the English captain, John Hawkins,

caught a huge shark,

most probably a great white shark,

which resulted in a huge wave of anxiety

when it was presented in London.

Back then, organs from other animals

such as rhino tusks or snake tongues

were attached to these creatures.

Of course these organs were not real,

but it helped fuel people's feelings

of fear and anxiety towards sharks.

This fear and panic resulted in various

horror stories, fairy tales and myths

about the great white shark.

Considering his horrifying appearance,

he is the perfect

inspiration for wild fantasies.

The fear that humans feel about this animal

is mainly based on its bite force

and its razor sharp teeth.

The teeth of the great white shark

stand in several rows.

The great white looks

to put these teeth to use

by patiently waiting

for a vulnerable animal to attack.

These are inherited

from the extinct megalodon,

a shark that lived 1 .6 million years ago.

This giant was the largest predator

to ever inhabit the earth's oceans.

Compared to the megalodon,

the great white appears

to be the size of a goldfish.

If 18,000 Newtons seemed impressive,

the megalodon had 180,000 Newtons

of biting power.

When a great white shark attacks,

it ambushes its prey

and attacks it by biting with the lowerjaw

and then the upper.

It shakes its head back and forth,

tearing off large pieces of meat,

swallowing them whole.

A great white shark

has up to 300 teeth at any one time,

and the great white may grow and use

more than 20,000 teeth in its lifetime.

Imagine how easily

we can chew a piece of steak.

Now imagine what we could do

with 20 times more strength.

Additionally, the great white's teeth

are extremely sharp

and can rip all their prey into pieces.

They can easily bite anything in two,

not just bones and cartilage,

but even entire wooden ship planks.

But, although the great white shark

could be every diver's nemesis,

he is actually a very intelligent giant.

Presenting this fish as

a brainless, bloodthirsty monster

only proves humans' ignorance and fear.

Sharks and their ancestors

have swum through the oceans

for more than 450 million years.

Because of their amazing skills,

they haven't needed to change

for all that time.

Only a few prehistoric animals

still survive today.

For example, crocodiles, turtles and sharks.

After so many years on this planet,

sharks outnumber most other animals

and have developed to become

the most lethal hunters that we know of.

These voracious hunters take

their own important place in nature, though.

Sharks regulate the sea's

natural food chain.

Without them, this delicately balanced

food chain would be disrupted,

and some species could become extinct.

There is nothing more natural

than the hunting nature of a shark.

Although humans

are not naturally part of a shark's diet,

we sometimes see ourselves

as victims of intentional shark attacks.

These attacks are, however,

due to our carelessness.

There are only a few attacks

that happen every year.

The true tragedy is that

people close their eyes to the truth.

Longline fishing has led to the death

of countless rare and interesting

underwater species.

Many deepwater fish are also at risk

of being caught

unintentionally by fishing trawlers.

It is not only the fishing industry

which is responsible for

threatening the extinction of sharks.

The main threat is

how carelessly humans treat nature.

The human race's

insatiable pursuit of money and power

has led to irreversible damage

to the earth's finite supply

of natural resources.

This, coupled with humans'

lazy attitudes towards conservation,

could spell disaster

for some of the earth's natural species.

If we want our planet

to continue being inhabited

by such a rich and vivid

diversity of species,

we must start to show

greater respect for mother nature, today.

And this includes showing

renewed respect for sharks.

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