Hunting Strategy Or Hungry Great White Shark?

Sharks are known as ferocious hunters. They rarely miss their intended prey. In fact, amongst all types of sharks, a specific type of shark is known as the apex predator. Which shark specie is it? It is none others than the Great White shark.

Hollywood made the Great White shark popular for its insatiable appetite for human preys as well as a terrifying stalker. While it does not deserve the reputation of preying particularly on humans or as having an insatiable appetite, some experts studying the behavior and natural habits of the Great White shark may agree on considering it as a stalker.

Although, the Great White shark is not stalking humans as shown in movies such as “Jaws”, stalking its prey is considered to be a hunting strategy rather then associating stalking to revenge.

You see, the Great White shark, like any other shark, uses basic instincts such as hunger and survival to sneak on their prey successfully. While most people think that sharks are not smart enough to use a hunting strategy, they believe that hunger drives them to be quick and use, in some cases, their body to hide and surprise their prey as would do the Wobbegong shark and the Sixgill Sawshark.

The Great White shark does not have the advantages provided by Mother Nature to be able to hide or dissimulate itself from the watchful eyes or its prey. After all, with such impressive dimensions, corals and a sandy ocean floor cannot hide it at all. This is where strategies come into play for the Great White shark.

First of all, the Great White shark is very sneaky and fast. It starts by locating the home of his favorite preys, which are sea lions and seals, contrary to popular beliefs. You see, humans are considered to be too bony for their taste and lacking the tasty blubber being the main ingredient of their preys’ body.

Second, they wait for loners and strays to reach the “Death Zone”, which is Great White sharks’ territory. Then, the Great White shark uses the element of surprise as a hunting strategy, by sneaking up from underneath its prey, at high speed.

Such speed and brute force actually propels this giant of the sea out of the water. The term describing this behavior is called “breaching”. It is the only shark specie that is known to use breaching. Contrary to whales, which mainly display this behavior when being playful, the Great White shark uses it either as a hunting strategy to knock out its prey, either totally or enough to disorient it. It will also use breaching simply to attack or proudly show off its prey within the confinements of its deadly mouth.

As for the popular belief implying that the hungry Great White shark is insatiable, it is false. In fact, following a huge meal, a Great White shark can go week, even up to two months without having another meal. You see, Great White sharks do not really chew their food well and mostly swallow their food whole, their digestion is quite slow. Since the digestive system has a lot of work to do, it can provide enough energy and nutrition to keep a shark satisfied for a long time without hunger striking.

So, to answer the question: “Is it a hunting strategy or hungry Great White shark?” I would say that it is a mix of both. After all, because of its size, the Great White shark needs to use various hunting strategies to feed its hunger. Don’t results justify the means?

My name is Sylvie Leochko. I am fascinated by sharks, which explains my desire to share my acquired knowledge about them with others. If you wish to learn more about sharks, I encourage you to visit the following site: http://www.sharks.findoutnow.org

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Shark Attack Facts - Are Sharks Man Eaters?

Hollywood and the news media have most definitely given sharks a bad reputation. Movies like “Jaws” and “Deep Blue Sea” and the news media reporting skewed numbers of Shark Attacks from summer 2001 through 2006 have given many people the belief that all sharks are man eaters and that whenever you’re in the ocean you are at risk of a fatal shark attack.

First, let me share some facts regarding shark attacks and information about the Shark species and population.

• In 1999 and 2000 their were more shark attacks then in 2001. Yet the media named by 2001 the “Summer of the Shark”. And most of the Shark bites in 2001 were not for certain Shark bites, they could have been Barracuda or Bluefish bites.

• There are 475 different species of Sharks in the world’s oceans and coastal waters, only 15% of the shark species inhabit coastal waters or shallow depths where anyone would encounter these species. 400 of the 475 total species of sharks are smaller then 6.5FT in length and 50% of that 400 grow smaller then 3.5FT in length. It is not true that the larger the shark the more likely it is to attack Humans, the largest sharks like the Whale Shark and Basking Shark feed on Plankton and are docile creatures.

• In all of the shark species, there are 4 species which have been responsible for 85% of all Shark attacks. The Species are the Great White Shark, the Tiger Shark, the Bull Shark and the Great Hammerhead Shark.

• On a worldwide average there are less then 75 shark attacks per year and only 2% of them fatal.

• What are your odds of being attacked by a shark? There were 58 unprovoked shark attacks world wide in 2005, out of that a total of 38 happened in the United States. The US has a population of 300 million, your odds of being a victim of a shark attack are 1 in 8 million. In comparison, your odds of dying from a fall down the stairs are 1 in 200,000. Your odds of dying from a wasp, bee or hornet sting are 1 in 5.9 million. Your odds of dying from a lightning strike are 1 in 4.3 million. Your odds of drowning in your bathtub are 1 in 800.000. Other causes of death with a higher probability then being attacked by a shark are: dying from an adverse reaction to antibiotics with the odds being 1 in 7 million, being killed by a falling object has odds of 1 in 400,000, being killed by an agricultural machine has odds of 1 in 500,000 and being killed in a motor vehicle accident has odds of 1 in 6,000. In comparison do Sharks still seem so scary?

Sharks do not plan attacks on human beings, Sharks are not smart enough to plot. Shark attacks happen because sharks become confused and accidentally bite humans because they mistake them as prey.

Almost 95% of shark attacks happen in 6FT of water or less, if you notice the geographical locations or conditions which they happen the attacks are almost always in areas where water clarity and visibility are poor. When the water clarity is poor sharks rely more on their senses which pick up movement and vibrations rather then there eyesight, so swimmers wading in the murky shallows rarely but sometimes get a sharks attention. Sharks don’t enjoy the taste of human flesh or the smell of human blood, in fact when Sharks identify us correctly they will not attack unless provoked. Sharks sometimes bite humans because much like a dog who feels its food with it’s mouth first before they consume it, due to the fact they do not have hands as “feelers”, to figure out if the food is edible. A Sharks mouth is it’s only way of feeling and testing any object it finds questionable, unfortunately by the time a Shark figures out it doesn’t want or is uninterested in the object in question it has suffered a shark bite.

Sharks are some of the oldest creatures on the planet, we should do our best to understand and protect them.

About Fort Lauderdale Surfing & Fishing Resource Vinnie LaSorsa Fort Lauderdale Surfing and Fishing Surf Lessons http://www.GoodFellasCharters.com http://www.FluidAddiction.com http://www.SunSurfSchool.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vinnie_La_Sorsa

How To Prepare For The Exciting Sport Of Shark Fishing

If you are actually trying to catch a shark then you should do so with forethought and preparation. The best time to catch a shark is really all year round, people will always say oh man the best time to catch a shark is in June but I think that is dead wrong. You can catch the biggest shark you have ever seen in the middle of winter. People who say that you can only catch them in one month are ignorant and uniformed. Just last week I caught a big bull shark and it's almost Christmas time. You can catch a shark at any time of the year as long as you have some bloody fish bait.

When you are going shark fishing you are going to need many things. The first thing you are going to need is a few shark rods and reels. You will want to have something so that they cannot spool all your line out then rip the rod out of your hand. You will want to have a big rod and reel like a boat rod. You will also need some sort of mode to get your bait out in the water casting it will not work since you are going to have about a 10 foot steel cable leader. You will want a kayak or small boat to run your baits out. I think the best rod to use is a big boat rod so that you ca catch anything, when you are shark fishing you can catch other things besides sharks, other fish eat the same stuff that a shark will.

You will also need to know which type of shark it is you want to catch. You can catch mostly all types of sharks inshore, such as bull sharks, tiger sharks, black tip sharks, and lemon sharks. Basically if you live on the North American continent you will be able to catch a wide variety of sharks. A lot of people think that you cannot catch certain sharks all over the world but they are wrong you can catch just about every kind of shark in the Atlantic Ocean.

After you have your bait in the water all you do is wait for the run. Once you have that bait in the water and on the bottom you will just have to wait until something takes the bait. You will know when something takes your bait it will pick it up and run with it. You will want to let the shark or fish it all the bait so give it team then you will want to set the hook. After the hook is set you will want to just let the fish run and do its thing until it is tired then you can either reel them in or it will be a fight to last for hours. I have friends that have fought sharks for hours and haven't even caught them that are how big and gnarly they were. What are you waiting for, get out there and experience them for yourself.

Gregg Hall is an author living with his 18 year old son in Jensen Beach, Florida. Find more about shark fishing as well as saltwater fishing gear at http://www.nsearch.com

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Where in the World Do Shark Attacks Happen?

Close your eyes. Imagine the caress of warm sunrays on your face, the wind in your hair, the saltwater on your lips and the cool water surrounding you. Heaven? For most people it is but for shark attack survivors it was the last peaceful memory the last one they had before they faced what they thought was certain death!

While movies make shark attacks look like sharks are on a feeding frenzy, nonetheless, they do happen although mostly for different reasons such as confusion or when feeling threatened. Where in the world do shark attacks happen?

Well, the main areas where shark attacks have occurred over the years until 2005 according to the ISAF (International Shark Attack File) are: United States of America (continental), England, Asia, Australia, the Pacific Island, Hawaii, the Antilles, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Mexico, Africa, South America and New Zealand.

What are the statistics for shark attacks in these areas? In the continental U.S., the statistics are representing the registered shark attacks since the first fatality which was in 1883 in South Carolina up to 2005 which was in Florida. A total of 234 shark attacks have been registered, 7 of them have resulted in fatalities. The states that have had victims in their waters are: Florida, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Alabama, Oregon, Georgia, Virginia and New Jersey. Shark attacks also have happened in the Open Ocean which is under the law enforcement of the U.S.A. Hawaii has recorded 23 shark attacks, the last fatality being in 2004.

Mexico has recorded 3 shark attacks, two being fatalities. The last fatality happened in 1997. Costa Rica has recorded 2 shark attacks and the last fatality was in 1964. The Antilles have recorded a total of 4 shark attacks, 2 in Cuba where there last fatality was in 1945, 1 in the Virgin Islands which also had their last fatality in 1972 and 1 in St.Martin.

South America has 3 countries that recorded shark attacks from 2000 to 2005 which totaled 22 of them. Brazil alone has a total of 18 and 1 fatality which happened in 2004. Ecuador has recorded 2 shark attacks and Venezuela has 2 as well and their last fatality occurred in 1971.

England recorded 1 shark attack between 2000 and 2005 with their last fatality being in 1968. Africa has recorded 32 shark attacks during this period, 8 resulting in fatalities. The leader of the pack is South Africa with 21 shark attacks, 2 fatalities, and the last one in 2004. Then you have the Mascarene Islands with 5 shark attacks, 1 fatality, the last one being in 1999. Tanzania recorded 3 shark attacks, 3 fatalities and the last one being in 2000. Madagascar had 1 shark attack and the last fatality was in 1955. And you have Cape Verde with 1 shark attack and the last fatality was in 2001. Finally, there is Egypt with 1 shark attack and 1 fatality which happened in 2004.

Asia has recorded 4 shark attacks with 2 fatalities. Both Japan and Thailand had 1 shark attack and 1 fatality, the last one being in 2000. India had 1 shark attack, the last fatality being in 1956. And South Korea had 1 shark attack as well with no fatal shark attacks.

Shark attacks around Australia for that same period had 47 recorded, 9 fatal shark attacks, the last fatality being in 2005. New Zealand had 1 shark attack during this time and the last fatality was in 1968.

And finally, you have the Pacific Islands which recorded 12 shark attacks and 4 fatal shark attacks. Papua New Guinea 3 shark attacks, 1 fatality and their last one being in 2000. Fiji Islands have recorded 4 shark attacks, 2 fatal shark attacks and the last fatality was in 2003. Marshall Islands recorded 2 shark attacks with no fatalities. Vanuatu recorded 1 shark attack with 1 fatality which happened in 2005. Kiribati recorded 1 shark attack with no fatalities. And Solomon Islands have recorded 1 shark attack with no fatal shark attacks between 2000 and 2005, the last fatality being in 1963.

As you can see, while a lot of people heard rumors about the high possibilities about being victim of a South African shark attack, there is no place in the world that can guarantee you that you will not become one of the stats. I know that a lot of people say that numbers and stats speak volume but still, why take a chance? Just take the recommended safety measures seriously and use them. More than likely you will be able to enjoy swimming, surfing and doing other water activities in seas and oceans without a hitch. Never take anything for granted or think that these things only happened to others. In the same breath, take into consideration the population on this planet and the average of 58 shark attacks a year and compare it to the 100 million sharks that are hunted, slaughtered died in a fishing net and you can ask yourself a question: “Who is the most likely to become victim of the other?”

My name is Sylvie Leochko. I always have been fascinated by sharks. As I am learning so much about them, I like to share the results of my research with others. If you with to learn more about shark attacks or the stories of shark attack survivors, I encourage you to visit the following page of my site: http://sharks.findoutnow.org/shark-attack-video-clips.html

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Keeping a Red-Tailed Black Shark

A Red-Tailed Black Shark is a stunning fish, with a velvety- black body, a bright red tail, and a lovely streamlined shape. If you are going to keep a Black Shark in your aquarium, and I highly recommend that you do, only get one, because they get very aggressive towards others of their species. When they are younger they are relatively harmless, but as they got older and bigger they can get very cantankerous.

You need to give your Black Shark plenty of hiding places to choose from, like a flowerpot on its side, or some rocks or bogwood it can hide behind, because Black Sharks do need their own space, and get very unhappy when they can’t find a place to call their own. I have a shipwreck in my aquarium (an old ship made by my husband from a kit), that had holes made in the side so the Shark can get in and out. Whenever I take the shipwreck out to clean it the Shark gets very upset and sulks for quite a while. How do I know? He is no longer a beautiful velvety-black, his body is now grey, and he swims around chasing any other fish who dare to get in his way.

Do be careful also as your shark gets older and you buy new tropical fish for your aquarium. I had a problem a few years ago, that whenever I bought new fish, by the morning they were all dead. It took me a while to work it out, but the Black Shark would wait until I wasn’t looking, and then he would chase the new fishes around the aquarium until they died from shock/exhaustion. I didn’t know fish were that clever, but this one certainly was! I ended up giving the Black Shark to a friend who had a much larger aquarium than mine, which had a big Angelfish that was the boss of his tank. The Black Shark lived happily there for a few more years, with the Angelfish keeping him in his place.

You may know the Red-Tailed Black Shark as Red-Tailed Labeo, which it probably a better name, because the fish is in no way related to true sharks, so it is rather misleading. The scientific name is Labeo Bicolor.

Jackie Robinson is a keen hobbyist, and has kept freshwater tropical fish for over 20 years. Find out more information on a variety of Freshwater Tropical Fish

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Salmon Shark Fishing Off Prince William Sound

Salmon shark fishing is one of the highlights of many a sports fisherman's holiday, allowing them to have all the fun and excitement of landing a shark without needing to go all the way to tropical waters to experience the adventure. Salmon shark fishing in Prince William Sound in Alaska is almost as famous as the salmon fishing in the area, but requires a whole different set of equipment and strategies to land these huge predators of the deep.

About Salmon Sharks

Salmon sharks are actually a variety of sharks that live in the colder waters of the northern part of the Pacific Ocean. They follow the movement of the various types of salmon, moving into shallower coastal waters during the spawning season and then moving again into deeper waters with the young salmon that move into the ocean to mature. Salmon sharks are generally dark gray to black on the top and lighter cream or white colors on the bottom. Salmon sharks will take six to ten years to reach maturity, and will often grow to be in excess of nine feet in length and up to four hundred pounds in weight.

Salmon shark fishing in Alaska is compared to fishing Marlin down in the more southern waters off of Mexico. The salmon shark is a voracious feeder and will hit on almost any type of bait while they are actively feeding on the schools of salmon. Salmon shark fishing is always done from a boat, with proper mounting brackets for heavy rods, reels and tackle. Most anglers report that it can take up to an hour to bring in a salmon shark once it is on the line. They can often be seen jumping out the water or “cartwheeling” as they try to escape from the hook and line.

In most situations salmon shark fishing is for trophy pictures only, often with the sharks being released. Anglers that wish to bring home the sharks need to ensure that the shark is gutted and bled out as soon as possible after being brought out of the water to prevent the meat from spoiling. The meat obtained from salmon shark fishing is not to everyone’s taste, but many cultures, including the Japanese, consider the meat of a salmon shark as well as the liver to be a delicacy.

There are several charter companies that offer salmon shark fishing in various areas off the Alaskan coast with Prince William Sound being the most popular area. If you want to add a bit of excitement to your next northern fishing adventure consider spending a day out salmon shark fishing, you won’t be disappointed.

Eliseo is an avid fishing guy

For more info and related article about fishing http://www.charasfishinginfo.com

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The Most Dangerous Shark Species Involved In Shark Attacks On Humans

In movies such as “Jaws” and “Deep Blue Sea”, sharks have been depicted as cold blooded killers. Although I must agree with the fact that they are cold blooded creatures and that by being natural predators, they must kill in order to ensure their own survival, the similarities stop right there!

In these movies, they also made them to be smart stalkers as in reality, the only hunting moves they actually put on their potential preys are the angles or types of attacks. They do not plan or stalk their preys like humans do; after all, their brain is not large enough to think things through. The functions that their brain can perform are simply based on automatisms and survival instincts.

Although, humans are victims of an average of 58 on a yearly basis, in 2005, only 4 of these 58 attacks resulted in fatalities. If you compare these results to the 100 million sharks that are killed every year of which 100% of this statistic results in fatalities, this is a blessing that the number of fatalities resulting from shark attacks on humans is not as alarming.

While there have been 39 shark species involved in shark attacks on humans in the period of time ranging from 1580 up to 2006. These shark species have been involved in 1238 shark attacks on humans of which 622 were unprovoked attack that resulted in 135 fatalities. There were also 348 provoked shark attacks on humans, 163 boat attacks and 105 no assignment (unable to decide in which category it should have been added).

Now, of theses 1238 shark attacks, the great white shark is in the first place with 430 shark attacks (63 fatalities) on humans. The second place goes to the tiger shark with 145 attacks (28 fatalities). The third place goes to the bull shark with 110 shark attacks (23 fatalities). The fourth place goes to the requiem shark with 49 attacks (8 fatalities). The fifth place goes to the sand tiger shark with 76 shark attacks (2 fatalities). The sixth place goes to the blacktip shark with 40 attacks (1 fatality). The seventh place goes to the hammerhead shark with 38 attacks (1 fatality. The eighth place goes to the spinner shark with 16 shark attacks. The ninth place goes to the blue shark with 38 attacks (4 fatalities). Finally, the tenth place belongs to the blacktip reef shark with 20 shark attacks on humans.

While some people think the bigger the shark, the most dangerous it is to humans, facts prove them wrong. In fact, while some shark species were not responsible for as many fatalities then others, other factors contributed to this list. As an example, the number of unprovoked attacks, provoked ones and boat attacks are some of these factors. As some were not assigned, confirmed or not specified, such statistics may vary or affect the ranking of certain species. Please note that these rankings can also change according to new statistics.

My name is Sylvie Leochko. My interest in sharks has motivated me in informing people better on these creatures. If you wish to learn more information about them, I invite you to visit the following main page of this site: http://sharks.findoutnow.org/shark-attack-videoclips.html.

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What Are The Odds Of Dying Of A Shark Attack

While sharks deserved our respect it does not mean that Hollywood is right when they imply with their shark movies that a soon as you go in the water you will become the victim of a shark attack. All it means is that we have to keep in mind that when we go in the water, we cannot ignore the fact that it is also their natural habitat and that we just entered their home.

What are actually the odds, in the United States, of being victim of a shark attack? Let’s study the odds given by a scientific study about it. If you take into consideration that there was 58 unprovoked shark attacks world wide in 2005 and that 38 of them happened in the United States which is a country that has a population of about 300 million, your odds to be victim or a shark attack is 1 in 8 million. Did you know that your odds of dying from a fall down the stairs are 1 in 200,000 which is lower than the odds of being a victim from a shark attack?

Also, your odds of dying from a wasp, bee or hornet sting are 1 in 5.9 million which is higher than being attacked by a shark. Your odds of dying from a lightning strike are 1 in 4.3 million which again is higher than being attacked by a shark.

Your odds of drowning in your bathtub are 1 in 800.000 which is once more lower that being victim of a shark attack. Other higher odds are: dying from an adverse reaction to antibiotics with the odds being 1 in 7 million, being killed by a falling object has odds of 1 in 400,000, being killed by an agricultural machine has odds of 1 in 500,000 and being killed in a motor vehicle accident has odds of 1 in 6,000.

What are the odds of actually winning your state lottery compared to being victim of a shark attack? Well, I guess that you just hit the “jackpot” as this is where the odds of a shark attack are higher as the odds of winning the state lottery are 1 in 14 million.

My name is Sylvie Leochko. Are you interested in finding out more information about shark attacks? Let’s leave the shark movies out of it and search for facts about “real” shark attacks and their odds. Then I invite you to follow this link: http://sharks.findoutnow.org/shark-attack-video-clips.html and learn all about it.

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Is the Amount of Fatalities Resulting from Shark Attacks as High as You Think?

When people hear or read about a shark attack, they seem to think it is fatal and that once in a blue moon, there is a lucky survivor that comes out of it. Well, in fact, it is quite the opposite, there are a lot more survivor of shark attacks that there are fatalities.

For example, in 2002, there were 63 unprovoked shark attacks world wide that were officially reported to the ISAF (International Shark Attack File) and three fatalities. This means that 4.7% of the total amount of shark attacks reported in 2002.

If you look at several areas world wide from 1998 to 2002, you will be surprised by the statistics. For example, in United States of America (continental), there were 204 unprovoked shark attacks reported to the ISAF of which 5 resulted in fatalities. This represents 2.4% of the total amount reported during this period.

In Asia, there were 3 shark attacks, which all resulted in fatalities. If you look at the percentage, it gives you 100% which could scare just about anyone. Mexico also had the same percentage of fatalities as Asia with a total of 2 shark attacks. Let’s take a look at other areas. In Africa, there were 44 shark attacks for 11 fatalities (25%). South America had 17 unprovoked shark attacks and 4 fatalities (23.5%).

Although the Bahamas counted 11 shark attacks and the Antilles had 3, none were fatal, which looks very promising with 0% of fatalities resulting from the total of unprovoked shark attacks. Hawaii also had the same percentage as the two of them although it had 17 reported shark attacks. New Zealand also had no fatalities despite the 3 shark attacks that were reported during this period.

The Pacific Islands had a total of 6 reported unprovoked shark attacks that resulted in 2 fatalities (33.3%). Australia had 20 shark attacks reported during that time of which 7 resulted in fatalities (35%).

As you can see, altogether, the number of fatalities actually resulting from shark attacks is far from being equal to the total amount of shark attacks. To the people thinking that most if not all shark attacks result in fatalities, I say: “You have watched “Jaws” too many times!”

My name is Sylvie Leochko. I am quite intrigued by everything about sharks but as I soon discovered, knowledge makes them a lot less scary and a lot more interesting than most people think. For this reason, I enjoy sharing the results of my research with others. If you wish to learn more about shark attacks, I encourage you to visit the following site: http://sharks.findoutnow.org/shark-attack-video-clips.html .

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