Shark Week: The Bull Shark

                                                                     Bull Sharks

These sharks do not have the stigma Great Whites have but can they be just as dangerous?

1. It is likely that a  bull shark was responsible for the New Jersey shark attacks of 1916 which so famously inspired the book/movie Jaws (although the shark in that book was a Great White instead). Bull sharks can swim in salt and fresh water which is how the shark was able to kill at least two boys in a river. Bull sharks keep salt in their bodies even when they swim in freshwater though how they can do this still  baffles scientists (https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/facts/bull-shark). As they get older bull sharks prefer to stay in saltwater. (www.treehugger.com//bull-shark-facts-5073755) 

2. Bull sharks are usually closer to the shore (another reason they are so dangerous) especially along tropical shorelines (https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/facts/bull-shark). Still shark attacks are rather rare (less than 20 kills a year) (https://www.ifaw.org/animals/bull-sharks).

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3. “They’ve been found in the Amazon, Ganges and Mississippi Rivers and even Lake Nicaragua” (The Little Chunky Book of Sharks).

4. Bull sharks are among the more aggressive sharks. Sometimes other sharks (particularly Great Whites) get blamed for attacks that were actually bull sharks. “This shark should come with caution tape” (The Little Chunky Book of Sharks). It is an underestimated predator.

5. Bull Sharks like to swim in murky water where they are less likely to be spotted. (Sharks by Nina Filipek).

6. Bull sharks have the highest bite force among any fish! (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0944200612000670?via%3Dihub)

7. Bull sharks are considered “Near Threatened” by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature)

8. Bull sharks have also become a tourist attraction. There are places in the world such as Fiji, the Bahamas, Mexico and South America where you can actually dive and snorkel with them! Would you? (https://saveourseas.com/worldofsharks/species/bull-shark)

9. Does well in captivity (https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=ucn)

   
   

10. Sometimes they hunt in pairs, although they usually act solo. (https://www.lamar.edu/arts-sciences/biology/study-abroad-belize/marine-critters/marine-critters-2/bull-shark.html)