SHARKS

There are many kinds of sharks in the sea, some deadly, some gentle. For instance, the Great White, the Basking Shark, the Bull Shark, the Hammerhead Shark, the Mako Shark, the Nurse Shark, the Thresher Shark,the Whale Shark, the White Shark, and the Scalloped Shark. The Great White has two rows of razor-sharp teeth. New teeth regularly replace the old teeth with new teeth. The replacement teeth lie out of sight along the inside of the shark's jaws. Scientists do not know exactly how many kinds of sharks there are in the world. They frequently identify new species. But sometimes they find that two sharks are actually exactly the same.

    The Basking Shark may measure over 30 feet long and live in tropical, subtropical, and temperate waters. They eat only small animal and plant life known as plankton. These sharks have a habitat of slowly swimming on the surface. They seem to be basking (warming themselves), but they are actually eating plankton from the surface.

    Bull Sharks can live in fresh water. They often enter rivers that empty into the sea. For example, Bull sharks have been captured in the Amazon River in Brazil, in the Ganges River in India, and even in the Mississippi River in the United States. They are also found in Lake Jamor in Indonesia, and in Lake Nicaragua in Nicaragua. Bull Sharks will even feed on other sharks and have attacked unfortunate swimmers.

    Hammerhead Sharks, which include several of similar species, rank among the strangest-looking sharks. They have a flattened head, which most of the similar species resembles very much the head of a hammer. Their eyes and nostrils are at the ends of the hammer. The largest  hammerhead, is about 20 feet long. Hammerheads live in shallow tropical and very warm temperate waters and have attacked some people.

    Mako Sharks are swift, very powerful creatures. They are considered one of the best species of game fish among all of the sharks. When hooked, a Mako fights by leaping high into the air. Most Makos live in tropical and very warm temperate waters. They can grow up to 14 feet long (weight considerably varies). Makos feed on fish, such as, bluefish, herring, mackerel, and swordfish. Makos have even attacked small fishing boats as well as swimmers.

    Nurse Sharks are a slow-moving fish that can grow up to 14 feet long. They live along shallow tropical and subtropical waters. Unlike some species of sharks, the nurse shark can pump water across its gills. Therefore, it does not have to swim all of the time to it can lie still and breathe. Nurse sharks eat fish, crabs, lobsters, sea urchins, and shrimp. They have attacked people in the past but the attacks were caused by the victim.

    Thresher Sharks are long tailed, live in the subtropical region, and swim at the surface of the water. They grow to about 20 feet, half of the sharks length is the tail. The Thresher sharks use their tails to goad the fish into groups and stun them before eating them. Threshers have never been known to attack people.

    Whale Sharks live in tropical waters. Their diet includes small fish and plankton. They are harmless to humans. They are also a threatened species.

    Great White Sharks are among the most dangerous sharks. They can grow up to 21 feet long. They live in cool temperate to tropical waters. White Sharks swim swiftly and prey on animals as large as Sea lions,Tuna, and even other sharks. They have attacked several people and  fishing boats.

The American Elasmobranch Society gives the following safety rules for swimming in tropical waters:

1) never swim or dive alone.

2) never swim or dive with an open wound, Blood attracts sharks.

3) never swim or dive at night or in dirty water where there is less chance of spotting a shark.

4) leave water immediately if a shark is sighted, swim as smoothly as possible for thrashing may attract the shark to you

5) never grab or injure a shark, even a small apparently harmless one.

These are the rules of the The American Elasmobranch Society when swimming in the tropical waters.