The World Of Shark
Drop beneath the wave, there is another world--mysterious, unexplored. A world ruled by strange, fierce creatures who are in every shape, every size, hunting in every sea. They are ocean's greatest predators. It is the world of shark!!!
In the coast of Cape Fear, there are about 100 ships racks.
Ragged Tooth Shark, equipped with their streamline bodies, muscular tails, mouth packed with teeth that endlessly replaced, and the sharp senses, are gathering in this wrecked place to feed.
At the tip of South Africa,
Black Tip Shark
They can hear the sound that is too faint to human hearing.
Their food here are the anchovies. Facing such tiny and agile prey, sharks work together: some saim beneath to force them to the shore; some circle around them to herding them together. When the moment to attack arrived, they cut off the escape rute. They huddle at the surface and bite their meal. The water become the one that filled with snowstorm of fish scales. When the meal is done, they just disappear into the blue.
Shark is one huge extended family that shares the key features:
their skin is composed of thousands of minute teeth coated with enamel;
they have no bones--it's just skeleton of rubbery cartitage;
they have gill slits, five along each side;
there are over 500 kinds of them, including some kinds having a hammer head and some having a chainsow.
Tasselled Wobbegon
A master of disguise in East Indonasia sea coast--the home to richest coral reef with a body so strange that it can be hardly seen at all is lurking in the shadow. Taking her skin camouflage, she lies motionless, staring at the fish and waiting victim to be within her range. The cave is her usual hang-out place inwhich she set the trap: her trick is using her tail to mimick a fish who has always swum in the cave, thus demilishing the victim's awearing and making it look safe in there. She is always on high alert. The strike is so quick that other fish nearby can hardly notice someone has gone! In that blink of the eye, the fish has been suck into the mouth and solved and digested.
Well, this kind of shark can be crowned as the master of patience! There is the one that is famous for its speed!
Mako Shark
This one is the fastest one in the world. A torpedo with teeth! Her sneaky streamline body is armed with miniscale teeth--the very special textureto minimize drag. Her prey--tuna is a quick kind too. But she is quicker.
Here is the test: a speed boat towing a underwater camera.
Seals can swim at the speed of 10 miles per hour, double the speed of Olympic champion;
Common dolphins are quicker--20 miles per hour. But she is dropped away when the boat accelerates;
At full speed, a Mako sprints at the speed of 30 miles per hour, even quicker than the boat. Sometimes they can swim at 46 miles per hour. No one knows their limit!
Sharks can adept themselves to live in every ocean in the world, even in the frozen Arctic Ocean.
Greenland Shark--the most mysterious one.
In this twillight zone that only the salt can stop the freezing,and half mile down in the abyss, there she lives. To survive such cold, her metablism is set very low, which makes her the legend of longevity of over 200 years!!!(the same stradgy of turtle or tortoise) But such living condition also plays a nagetive effect--she lost the sight!!! More horribly, there are parasites on her eye balls!!! Blind though she is, she can smell her prey in her constant search for food. She eats anything she can find, like a drown polor bear. When she finds nothing on the surface, she drops down and back into the deep living her long and lonely life!
A Japaness team spend 4 years, using new technology, to find strange creatures living in the abyss almost half a mile deep.
Frilled Shark
It has a body like a snake, 200 teeth and a wide mouth. It can swallow prey more than half of its size. No sight at all.
Goblin Shark
The living fossel who hasn't changed for hundrad million years. Its long snort is just like the metal detector. The extra reach of its mouth also helps its catching prey after drifting towards them. It's tough to live jn such darkness and tense pressure which is 100 times higher than that on the surface.
In the shallow tropical water of Australia Great Barrier reef, lives the smallest shark on earth.
Epaulette Shark
Only 2 feet long, this kind of shark waits for the tide to go out twice a day. When the tide fades, it's just like a plug pulled out and just the rock pools which is perfect for epaulette. Its sinuous body is ideal for the rocky land or pool. Crab is its favourite. But the tide keeps dropping, thus turning the poolinto puddle. The scorching sun makes it dry. As we all know, no shark can breath out of water. But this one has its own trick:
Survival strategy A--it shut down oxygen-consuming orgens one by one and it can hold breath 60 times longer than human beings do.
Survival strategy B--it is the only kind of shark that can walk on land. It walk towards the nearest water by its fins. This one can just walk its way out of trouble.
Well, some sharks change their bodies to match "the fittest survives!"
Thresher Shark has the tail half length of its body which can stun its prey.
Nurse Shark has a vacumm cleaner mouth. One stronge suck can let its prey out of their hidden shells.
Basking Shark feed on modified gills.
Wide Hammer Head Shark detects in sand.
Well, others change their behavour to survive!
White Tip Shark
White Tip Shark functions as a scratching post at day time. Young sealions have fun by harassing them. But when the darkness falls, the table turns. The Dr. Jackle turns into Mr.Hide. Because all creatures produce small electrical field by which, run or hide, the shark can find you while he is scouting the reef! Even the electricity of a beeting heart from a frightened fish can not escape from the shark's accute sense. They always hear in tune to the particular pitch--in the night, the mob rules! Till dawn, at the flick of the switch, the attack stops. Sharks lie on the seabed to rest and it's safe for the fishes to come out.
With their speed, agility, strength, patience, and stealth, shark has been the hunter of the ocean for more than 400 years.
There is one kind of sharks who has all of the skills mentioned above--the Great White SharkGreat White Shark
At the Cape of Storm in the wild South coast of Africa, these top predeters with speed, strength, stealth, and huge sharp teeth have the hardest prey to catch--the fur seals who are also smart, aggrassive, and agile, and who even eat small sharks. Dozens of white sharks arrived riling for food. Seals need to reach to the surface to feed. So sharks make a dash for it. Then, seals scatterred. Sharks can sense their movement and, then, stalking them. Surpise is everything. One of the seals is injured. The hunt is on. Shark is stronger and has the ability to follow the blood produced by the wonded prey in the murdy water whitch blurs its sight. While the seal is more agile. He tried to stay on shark's tail and got closer to him and made a sudden dash. Out-witted and out-maneuver, it's a clean kill for the shark! The shark shaked its head to rip the chunk that it can swallow. At the main time, other sharks came and took its hard-won meal. Great white sharks burn feul faster than other sharks, so it has to eat soon. And there is another group of seals ahead~~~
Apart from hunting, there are another side of their bahavour--the intricate social life. The courtship rituals, surprising way of bring up young, extrodinary power of nevigation. Though some may be solitory and alone for years.
The Scalloped Hammerhead
They will swim long distance to Pasific to find a mate. They do this in the most elegent way among all sharks--the graceful dance.
Females are in the center and the males are on the outside. They glide on ocean current, and "fly" undulatingly. Normally, they seek the largest females. When they get in pair, the two of them will swim side by side. If no partner available, they will come tomorrow and dance again.
The Mobula Ray
Once a year, in Baja Maxico. They are gathering for feeding and mating. There is the full extent of their numbers. The aggregation of race in the world. The problem is how to stand out from such a crowd. They have the very extrodinary way of getting noticed. They "jump" out of the water, just like flying in the sky. When they land, they impact huge boom to the water. Usually, males do this to give them the best odds of leaving with a mate. But where they go to mate is still a mystery.
Port Jackson Shark
This kind is older than dinosours. Their courtship is less a seduction, but more a wrestling match. After mating, usually two weeks, females will find a safe spot to lay eggs which will be hidden for 11 months. Their eggs are in all shapes and sizes. Yes. This kind of shark lay eggs!!!
Lemon Shark
They will swim to the same place where they were born to breed. They have belly butten. Nowborns have to feed for themselves. They spend 7 years on everage in shark nursary where those young one can form friendship:hide and hunt together.
Whale Shark
Weight 20 tons and having the longevity of 60 years, whale sharks feed on the tinest creatures in the sea. They filter food from million gallons of water. Sometimes, they also turn filter into hunter when they encounter schools of tuna. They can swallow tons of tuna by a single gulp in a scour, vast, featureless motion.
Two thirds of sharks' brain contributes to the sense of smell. They can track scents from huge distance just because of the tiny sensers on their noses.
A white shark can nevigate from Africa to Australia and then back again.
Tiger shark can swim about 27 thousands of miles to circle the ocean and back to the same place the same date to hunt.
On east coast of Australia, Raine Island, tiger sharks are gathered coinside with the breeding season of greenturtles who peek their numbers in December. Using their formidable jaws, these sharks crush the shells.
Well, the nevigation is about intellegence as well as endurance.
Gaint Manta Rays
They glide in the water with their gaint wings. They have the biggest brain among shark family. They see the sea mountains as the sigh posts and map them in their head and remember them!
Sometimes you can see some angelfish picking perasides on sharks'back.
There is relationship between sharks and other fishes.
Gray Reef Sharks
They sometimes just tilt up their body in the water to have their teeth cleaned by just saying "Ahhh~~~" To do this, they have to slowdown as they can. To do such a vital service requires the bravest dentists of the ocean.
A young whale shark may have he habit of being fed by fishman. Because he knows he can get much more free meals from people.
To really understand sharks, we need to enter their world.
Great White Sharks,weight about 2 tons, use body language--poses exchange poses, to communicate. It seems the bigger the ones be the more confident they like to be.
The more we observe them, the less we think them as the mindless killers.
Oceanic White Tip Shark
Although ranking at the top of the food chain, they are threaten by the dangerous fishing boats. They may have the habit of following the fleeting fishing boats as if they think it's their prey. There are more than 100 million sharks are killed by fishing every year. 99% of the white tip sharks have been wriped out because of their fins and tails which are the famous cuisine in Asian countries. They have no time toadept themselves to be the prey!!!
With the fishing, poaching, and polution, sharks' numbers are dropping sharply.
Now we know sharks have their language, courtship, and sociallife. They are far more than just hunters.
In Bahamas, scientists have got the chance to swim with the great white sharks with the aim of understanding their body language.
When their fins lowered with the black tip and showing a arching back, it means you should say Bye to them.
When their fins flattened, it means they are relaxed and no agrassive attitude.
When they give you the turning eyeballs, you are accepted.
Sharks have extrordinary senses: the electtic fields--they can sense the preys' heartbeat; the pressure; and the hearing--theh can hear their dinner from several miles away.
In Bahamas:
In such big blue desert, the edge of the oceanic white tip sharks is the hearing. They are smart at how to use the hearing to use the fishing boats to provide free meals.
The brain power can let them do much more than hunt.
Gaint Mant Ray, having the biggest brain of any fish, is the normand of the shark family. They lead the simple life of following and feeding their favourite prey. They travel solo and only breeding can bring them together. They are very much individuals. They are inquisitive too. They will come and approach and inspect you. Everyone has the unique spot on its stamach just as the finger print or the ID photo in human world.
Well, their gathering can be more complex than previously thought. "Play" is the strong sign of intellegence.
See, shark is the kind of animal with brains and personality. You can also find personality plus social life in many shark members.
Lemon sharks make friends in their nursary when they are young(the first 7 years of their lives), and learn how to prey and how to avoid danger.
Great White Sharks keep the pace and exchange their body language when they meet each other.
The Whale Shark is the biggest fish on the sea. But such 40 foot giants are still hard to find in the vast open waters. In some parts of the world, they gather. But where they go is still the myth. We knly know that their migration takes years to complete. And they have the habit or ritual to go back their birth place. Well, the paresides carrying on their bodies, like the stamps on the passport, can tell where they had been. As far as we know now, they travel from Africa to Australia for about 9 months and back again almost at the same place and the same time every year. It's the moment when young birds learn to fly--the most volnarable moment, and the sharks seiz this opportunity to feed.
Sharks are built for speed. The sleek curve and the powerful tail.
We, people, utilize it.
We copy the structure of the skin of sharks to make swimming suit and clothing. The less drag brings more speed. We also apply it on planes in the air and on cars.
The skin can also help fight deseases. Not even bectia can get through such thick one. This biotech also apply on our touch screens.
In Santa Barbara
The Swell Shark
They glow in the dark in white green. To see its colour, we need shark's eye or the special camera. The glow is the secret signal for mating. Accouding to scientific research, such bio-fluencence has life-saving potential and is benifitial to deseases as cancer and Alzheimer's desease.
Nowadays, about one in forth speciese of sharks are facing extinction due to commercial fishing(the hogh price on their heads; their meat and fins are delicious cuisines in Asia, especially in China!!!)
In this ocean full of knives, hooks and nets, we turn sharks from preditors into preys. Some have gone even we knew the speciese. To date, we know over 500 speciese. Some new speciese are found in fosh market in Taiwan. About 180 speciese of sharks are found on Taiwan'coast. Just like CSI investigation, scientists try to find new speciese. With an expert's eye, they have to do quick spot. Some deep sea speciese are found on the market, which means they go fishing much deeper. This worries scientists.
Sharks have such deadly reputation due to the publicity on TV and other major news medias. But there are more than 500 times likely you would be drown than being attacked by sharks.
The offshore nets, lines, and traps set to kill animals also harm the sharks who swim too close to shore.
In Cape Town, the place with high consantration of sharks. They share the water. About 700 sharks linger around there.
By "tagging and tracking", scientists there are learnong how to live with them peacefully. They learn the time when sharks hunt(usually during the daytime) and, by dawn, sharks just stay hidden in dark water.
Science is the mean much easier to manage people to know sharks, thus bearing no fear of them!
there are over 500 kinds of them, including some kinds having a hammer head and some having a chainsow.
Tasselled Wobbegon
A master of disguise in East Indonasia sea coast--the home to richest coral reef with a body so strange that it can be hardly seen at all is lurking in the shadow. Taking her skin camouflage, she lies motionless, staring at the fish and waiting victim to be within her range. The cave is her usual hang-out place inwhich she set the trap: her trick is using her tail to mimick a fish who has always swum in the cave, thus demilishing the victim's awearing and making it look safe in there. She is always on high alert. The strike is so quick that other fish nearby can hardly notice someone has gone! In that blink of the eye, the fish has been suck into the mouth and solved and digested.
Well, this kind of shark can be crowned as the master of patience! There is the one that is famous for its speed!
Mako Shark
This one is the fastest one in the world. A torpedo with teeth! Her sneaky streamline body is armed with miniscale teeth--the very special textureto minimize drag. Her prey--tuna is a quick kind too. But she is quicker.
Here is the test: a speed boat towing a underwater camera.
Seals can swim at the speed of 10 miles per hour, double the speed of Olympic champion;
Common dolphins are quicker--20 miles per hour. But she is dropped away when the boat accelerates;
At full speed, a Mako sprints at the speed of 30 miles per hour, even quicker than the boat. Sometimes they can swim at 46 miles per hour. No one knows their limit!
Sharks can adept themselves to live in every ocean in the world, even in the frozen Arctic Ocean.
Greenland Shark--the most mysterious one.
In this twillight zone that only the salt can stop the freezing,and half mile down in the abyss, there she lives. To survive such cold, her metablism is set very low, which makes her the legend of longevity of over 200 years!!!(the same stradgy of turtle or tortoise) But such living condition also plays a nagetive effect--she lost the sight!!! More horribly, there are parasites on her eye balls!!! Blind though she is, she can smell her prey in her constant search for food. She eats anything she can find, like a drown polor bear. When she finds nothing on the surface, she drops down and back into the deep living her long and lonely life!
A Japaness team spend 4 years, using new technology, to find strange creatures living in the abyss almost half a mile deep.
Frilled Shark
It has a body like a snake, 200 teeth and a wide mouth. It can swallow prey more than half of its size. No sight at all.
Goblin Shark
The living fossel who hasn't changed for hundrad million years. Its long snort is just like the metal detector. The extra reach of its mouth also helps its catching prey after drifting towards them. It's tough to live jn such darkness and tense pressure which is 100 times higher than that on the surface.
In the shallow tropical water of Australia Great Barrier reef, lives the smallest shark on earth.
Epaulette Shark
Only 2 feet long, this kind of shark waits for the tide to go out twice a day. When the tide fades, it's just like a plug pulled out and just the rock pools which is perfect for epaulette. Its sinuous body is ideal for the rocky land or pool. Crab is its favourite. But the tide keeps dropping, thus turning the poolinto puddle. The scorching sun makes it dry. As we all know, no shark can breath out of water. But this one has its own trick:
Survival strategy A--it shut down oxygen-consuming orgens one by one and it can hold breath 60 times longer than human beings do.
Survival strategy B--it is the only kind of shark that can walk on land. It walk towards the nearest water by its fins. This one can just walk its way out of trouble.
Well, some sharks change their bodies to match "the fittest survives!"
Thresher Shark has the tail half length of its body which can stun its prey.
Nurse Shark has a vacumm cleaner mouth. One stronge suck can let its prey out of their hidden shells.
Basking Shark feed on modified gills.
Wide Hammer Head Shark detects in sand.
Well, others change their behavour to survive!
White Tip Shark
With their speed, agility, strength, patience, and stealth, shark has been the hunter of the ocean for more than 400 years.
There is one kind of sharks who has all of the skills mentioned above--the Great White SharkGreat White Shark
At the Cape of Storm in the wild South coast of Africa, these top predeters with speed, strength, stealth, and huge sharp teeth have the hardest prey to catch--the fur seals who are also smart, aggrassive, and agile, and who even eat small sharks. Dozens of white sharks arrived riling for food. Seals need to reach to the surface to feed. So sharks make a dash for it. Then, seals scatterred. Sharks can sense their movement and, then, stalking them. Surpise is everything. One of the seals is injured. The hunt is on. Shark is stronger and has the ability to follow the blood produced by the wonded prey in the murdy water whitch blurs its sight. While the seal is more agile. He tried to stay on shark's tail and got closer to him and made a sudden dash. Out-witted and out-maneuver, it's a clean kill for the shark! The shark shaked its head to rip the chunk that it can swallow. At the main time, other sharks came and took its hard-won meal. Great white sharks burn feul faster than other sharks, so it has to eat soon. And there is another group of seals ahead~~~
Apart from hunting, there are another side of their bahavour--the intricate social life. The courtship rituals, surprising way of bring up young, extrodinary power of nevigation. Though some may be solitory and alone for years.
The Scalloped Hammerhead
They will swim long distance to Pasific to find a mate. They do this in the most elegent way among all sharks--the graceful dance.
Females are in the center and the males are on the outside. They glide on ocean current, and "fly" undulatingly. Normally, they seek the largest females. When they get in pair, the two of them will swim side by side. If no partner available, they will come tomorrow and dance again.
The Mobula Ray
Once a year, in Baja Maxico. They are gathering for feeding and mating. There is the full extent of their numbers. The aggregation of race in the world. The problem is how to stand out from such a crowd. They have the very extrodinary way of getting noticed. They "jump" out of the water, just like flying in the sky. When they land, they impact huge boom to the water. Usually, males do this to give them the best odds of leaving with a mate. But where they go to mate is still a mystery.
Port Jackson Shark
This kind is older than dinosours. Their courtship is less a seduction, but more a wrestling match. After mating, usually two weeks, females will find a safe spot to lay eggs which will be hidden for 11 months. Their eggs are in all shapes and sizes. Yes. This kind of shark lay eggs!!!
Lemon Shark
They will swim to the same place where they were born to breed. They have belly butten. Nowborns have to feed for themselves. They spend 7 years on everage in shark nursary where those young one can form friendship:hide and hunt together.
Whale Shark
Weight 20 tons and having the longevity of 60 years, whale sharks feed on the tinest creatures in the sea. They filter food from million gallons of water. Sometimes, they also turn filter into hunter when they encounter schools of tuna. They can swallow tons of tuna by a single gulp in a scour, vast, featureless motion.
Two thirds of sharks' brain contributes to the sense of smell. They can track scents from huge distance just because of the tiny sensers on their noses.
A white shark can nevigate from Africa to Australia and then back again.
Tiger shark can swim about 27 thousands of miles to circle the ocean and back to the same place the same date to hunt.
On east coast of Australia, Raine Island, tiger sharks are gathered coinside with the breeding season of greenturtles who peek their numbers in December. Using their formidable jaws, these sharks crush the shells.
Well, the nevigation is about intellegence as well as endurance.
Gaint Manta Rays
Sometimes you can see some angelfish picking perasides on sharks'back.
There is relationship between sharks and other fishes.
Gray Reef Sharks
A young whale shark may have he habit of being fed by fishman. Because he knows he can get much more free meals from people.
To really understand sharks, we need to enter their world.
Great White Sharks,weight about 2 tons, use body language--poses exchange poses, to communicate. It seems the bigger the ones be the more confident they like to be.
The more we observe them, the less we think them as the mindless killers.
Oceanic White Tip Shark
Although ranking at the top of the food chain, they are threaten by the dangerous fishing boats. They may have the habit of following the fleeting fishing boats as if they think it's their prey. There are more than 100 million sharks are killed by fishing every year. 99% of the white tip sharks have been wriped out because of their fins and tails which are the famous cuisine in Asian countries. They have no time toadept themselves to be the prey!!!
With the fishing, poaching, and polution, sharks' numbers are dropping sharply.
Now we know sharks have their language, courtship, and sociallife. They are far more than just hunters.
In Bahamas, scientists have got the chance to swim with the great white sharks with the aim of understanding their body language.
When their fins lowered with the black tip and showing a arching back, it means you should say Bye to them.
When their fins flattened, it means they are relaxed and no agrassive attitude.
When they give you the turning eyeballs, you are accepted.
Sharks have extrordinary senses: the electtic fields--they can sense the preys' heartbeat; the pressure; and the hearing--theh can hear their dinner from several miles away.
In Bahamas:
In such big blue desert, the edge of the oceanic white tip sharks is the hearing. They are smart at how to use the hearing to use the fishing boats to provide free meals.
The brain power can let them do much more than hunt.
Gaint Mant Ray, having the biggest brain of any fish, is the normand of the shark family. They lead the simple life of following and feeding their favourite prey. They travel solo and only breeding can bring them together. They are very much individuals. They are inquisitive too. They will come and approach and inspect you. Everyone has the unique spot on its stamach just as the finger print or the ID photo in human world.
Well, their gathering can be more complex than previously thought. "Play" is the strong sign of intellegence.
See, shark is the kind of animal with brains and personality. You can also find personality plus social life in many shark members.
Lemon sharks make friends in their nursary when they are young(the first 7 years of their lives), and learn how to prey and how to avoid danger.
Great White Sharks keep the pace and exchange their body language when they meet each other.
The Whale Shark is the biggest fish on the sea. But such 40 foot giants are still hard to find in the vast open waters. In some parts of the world, they gather. But where they go is still the myth. We knly know that their migration takes years to complete. And they have the habit or ritual to go back their birth place. Well, the paresides carrying on their bodies, like the stamps on the passport, can tell where they had been. As far as we know now, they travel from Africa to Australia for about 9 months and back again almost at the same place and the same time every year. It's the moment when young birds learn to fly--the most volnarable moment, and the sharks seiz this opportunity to feed.
Sharks are built for speed. The sleek curve and the powerful tail.
We, people, utilize it.
We copy the structure of the skin of sharks to make swimming suit and clothing. The less drag brings more speed. We also apply it on planes in the air and on cars.
The skin can also help fight deseases. Not even bectia can get through such thick one. This biotech also apply on our touch screens.
In Santa Barbara
The Swell Shark
Nowadays, about one in forth speciese of sharks are facing extinction due to commercial fishing(the hogh price on their heads; their meat and fins are delicious cuisines in Asia, especially in China!!!)
In this ocean full of knives, hooks and nets, we turn sharks from preditors into preys. Some have gone even we knew the speciese. To date, we know over 500 speciese. Some new speciese are found in fosh market in Taiwan. About 180 speciese of sharks are found on Taiwan'coast. Just like CSI investigation, scientists try to find new speciese. With an expert's eye, they have to do quick spot. Some deep sea speciese are found on the market, which means they go fishing much deeper. This worries scientists.
Sharks have such deadly reputation due to the publicity on TV and other major news medias. But there are more than 500 times likely you would be drown than being attacked by sharks.
The offshore nets, lines, and traps set to kill animals also harm the sharks who swim too close to shore.
In Cape Town, the place with high consantration of sharks. They share the water. About 700 sharks linger around there.
By "tagging and tracking", scientists there are learnong how to live with them peacefully. They learn the time when sharks hunt(usually during the daytime) and, by dawn, sharks just stay hidden in dark water.
Science is the mean much easier to manage people to know sharks, thus bearing no fear of them!
No comments:
Post a Comment