Sharks :: essays research papers

Sharks"Its tail swayed slowly from side to side, pushing the hunters tree trunkthrough the murky water. All signs of motion were non-existant, except for therhythmic movement of the water over the five gill slits on either side of itshead. Slowly gaining speed, the shady figures unmoving eyes fixed on itstarget, a lost harbor seal pup. As the distance amidst the vulture and itsprey grew closer, the jaws of the massive fish drew forward, exposing nearlyeight rows of razor sharp teeth. Strings of its previous meal hung in rowsfrom between its teeth. Sensing danger, the harbor seal frantically tried tofind a place to seek refuge, but it was too late. The jaws of the shark closed virtually the seal with an astounding 14,000 pounds of pressure, cutting the sealin half. The Great uninfected shark claims an some other victim.1"Any one whos seen the famous movie serial "Jaws" may look at the GreatWhite Shark in a similar manner. Perhaps its the way that Hollywood uses a mixed bagof fact and fiction in the series. This may have frightened many people intohating the Great White for its ferocity. It might have also been the surface ofthe shark in the movie thats kept thousands of people off the beaches and outof the water. Better yet, it could have been the overall storyline A GreatWhite shark with an eating disorder and a taste for human flesh. Perhaps thatswhat is keeping vacationers from grabbing their trousers and snorkels.     Over all, there have been 1026 attacks on humans by sharks in the lastten stratums. Only 294 of these attacks have been linked to Great White sharks.Thats roughly the number of people who drown each year in swimming accidents.Of these 294 attacks, less than eighteen percent were fatal. Out of theeighteen fatal incidents more than seventy percent was contributed to loss ofblood. This means that the shark didnt kill the victim. The shark bit thevictim and then released them (also known as the taste tes t). The shark samplesthe victim by nibbling on an appendage or ii often resulting in a severedartery or other major blood vessel. Therefore, the Great White should beconsidered a mantaster not a maneater.     This intrigued scientists considering the size of the sharks brain. TheGreat Whites brain is about one half the size of a dogs. Over seventy percentof the brain is used for tracking prey. The other thirty percent is used forbody functions. Studies show that the sharks main purpose is to eat.