Welcome to Shark Week Facts

Last week was the annual celebrations of sharks on Discovery Channel. This year marks the 34th year of Shark Week - the first one airing in1988. Though I don't currently have cable, I am able to still celebrate through a few apps and other ocean created content. Currently, I'm typing up this blog post while watching the first blockbuster summer movie Jaws. 

I found this pattern on Pinterest. 

Jaws is a fun summer adventure movie - I don't personally consider it a horror movie. However, it is one of the major reasons humans began going after sharks for sport. After the movie's release in 1975, people went out on shark hunting sprees. In doing so, they decimated one of the oldest species still roaming the planet, harming ecosystems, and further throwing ocean life out of balance. 

Sharks can be dangerous, however we humans are entering their space when we go to frolic in the ocean. Sharks are unlikely to kill a person (you're more likely to be killed in a car accident than by a shark) and typically avoid humans. But if you enter their living room, expect them to be curious about your.

Discovery Channel's shark week originally meant to educate viewers on sharks. In recent years, however, it's been more interested in the entertainment side of educational programing. I remember when they started doing their fake mocumentaries on the Megalodon - an ancient shark that's been extinct for over three million years. These mocumentaries made it seem plausible that the Meg (it's "playful" nickname) might still be alive. It's not. Its extinct. 

Other sensationalist programing made great white sharks seems a lot more dangerous than they actually are. True white sharks have the highest number of human fatalities (which is still a small number), but it's the temperamental bull shark that has the most unprovoked attacks against humans. That's primarily because they like to have their babies near estuaries and are known to be difficult to spot in muddy water. They also hang out off the coast of Florida, which is a popular beach spot. 

Sharks are cool and there are a lot of them. There are over 500 species of shark from the famous great white to the lesser known ghost shark. Some sharks are fairly standard looking like the blue shark or the tiger shark, while others look a little odd like the infamous hammer head shark, and then there are the absolutely nightmarish looking sharks like the cookie cutter shark or the goblin shark. Sharks can be tiny like the dwarf lanternshark - only getting to about 7.4 inches long - while the biggest sharks, whale sharks - getting up to 33 feet - eat the smallest ocean life.

Sharks haven't always been thought of as scary creatures of the deep. This is a much more recent development as more people spend time in the oceans. 

In some cultures, sharks prominent members of their folk lore, mythology, and religion. In Hawaii, there are sharks that are gods who are said to be the guardians of the ocean. Some cultures even think of sharks as the embodiment of their ancestors. 

As Shark Week 2022 comes to and end, remember that sharks aren't as scary as movies or dramatized TV shows make them out to be. They're pretty cool, mostly avoid humans, and are revered in some cultures. They are not mindless eating machines, but powerhouse examples of evolutionary specializations. 

And the Megalodon is not hiding out anywhere in our oceans.

I hope you can take some time to appreciate sharks. With climate change happening and human interference, shark populations are still in danger. The world's oceans need sharks and we should respect their awesomeness. 

Until next week. 

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