Who is more harmless - a mosquito or a shark? It would seem that this is a rhetorical question: and so it is clear that a tiny mosquito is not capable of causing any significant damage to a person, in contrast to a multi-ton aggressive animal. In reality, this is not at all the case, and the traditional Discovery Channel series of "Shark Week" debunks the most popular myths about sharks.
Sharks often and deliberately attack humans
This stereotype is largely shaped by the efforts of Hollywood movies and the media, which portray sharks as ruthless, always hungry, perfect killing machines. In reality, the situation looks exactly the opposite: according to world statistics, an average of 10 people die from shark attacks every year, while people exterminate 100 million of these predators over the same period. For comparison, every year about 750 thousand people die from mosquito bites, about 6000 people die from lightning strikes, not talking about the hundreds of those who fall prey to a fallen icicle or coconut, as well as a failed champagne cork. Sharks, in the ranking of mortal dangers to humans, are practically at the very bottom - below dogs, elephants, snakes, ants and even snails. In addition, most of these attacks are provoked,because sharks themselves do not consider humans a worthy prey and a priority source of food.
All sharks are huge
Perhaps the most popular shark image is associated with the great white shark. This archetype was also replicated by blockbusters and horror films: a huge predator, giant jaws, sharp teeth with which the animal grinds its prey. In fact, there are about 500 species of shark in the world, and the largest - whales, reaching 14 meters in length and weighing under twenty tons - do not pose any danger to humans, since they feed exclusively on plankton. She even lets the divers pet her - and pays no attention to them. But large species are only 10% of the total number of predators. Basically, sharks are small and even small: six-meter foxes, five-meter tiger, three-meter blue and mako, one and a half meter black-fin and even twenty-centimeter Brazilian glowing. By the way,those great white sharks are not that big: the average size of individuals is 4.5 meters.
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Shark brain the size of a walnut
The myth that a shark's brain is no larger than a walnut stems from the fact that scientists used to measure only the brain. In fact, it is noticeably larger - about 60 centimeters. It is attached to two large olfactory bulbs. Together with the hypothalamus and pituitary gland, they make up the forebrain. The hypothalamus secretes hormones that regulate the heartbeat and metabolism, while the pituitary gland secretes hormones that are responsible for blood pressure and growth. The midbrain interprets visual information, while the posterior brain coordinates body movement. Overall, sharks have one of the highest brain-to-body weight ratios among fish - much like birds and lower mammals.
Sharks are silly creatures
Sharks have appeared on Earth for 450 million years - they are considered one of the most ancient creatures on the planet. They have outlived nearly 98% of the species that have ever inhabited the world, and during this time have managed to develop noticeable intellectual abilities. Sharks are quite trainable, which is confirmed by dozens of experiments and studies, they can distinguish between optical illusions and real objects, perform various tricks and reproduce them even after a year without training. They are familiar with several hunting strategies, and for different prey, sharks choose the most suitable method - this attack is preceded by close observation of the victim, analysis of its appearance, movements and sounds that it makes. A shark will never attack a huge elephant seal the same way it attacks a fur seal - simply because it does not want to get hurt. Besides,sharks have an individual set of traits - that is, a character: some of them are playful, some are brave, others are timid and indecisive, others prefer the society of their relatives, and someone spends their whole lives alone.
Shark cannot be motionless
The stereotype that the stop for a shark is similar to death arose due to the absence of gill covers in these predators. These muscles help pump water through the gills, thus providing a constant supply of oxygen. Therefore, it was assumed that for uninterrupted ventilation and washing of the gills, sharks are forced to move all the time, passing water through their mouth. In fact, most sharks have successfully adapted to rest in shallow water, where the ebb and flow create a constant current and fluctuation of water, as well as in deep-sea caves and caves: there is often an influx of fresh water with a high oxygen content, which allows predators to remain motionless for a long time and at the same time not die of hypoxia.