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Compiled by: Jack Foley
OPEN Water follows An American couple, Daniel (Daniel Travis)
and Susan (Blanchard Ryan), who go on an island holiday to get
a break from their workaholic lifestyles.
However, during a scuba diving session, the couple find themselves
left alone in the middle of the ocean by their tour operator,
following a mistake during a head count.
Cold, alone and miles from land they're adrift in shark-infested
waters.
Sharks bring with them an innermost fear in everybody. Classics
like Jaws portray the creature as a killer, a beast to be feared.
But does everybody know the truth?
Here are some facts that you may not have necessarily known:-
1) Sharks can find prey by following
the electrical impulses that animals emit, and some species of
shark can smell a drop of blood in one million drops of seawater.
2) Sharks have an unlimited supply of teeth that are set in layered
rows in the gums. If one tooth falls out, a tooth from another
layer takes its place. A shark may shed as many as 50,000 teeth
in its lifetime. This is one reason why prehistoric shark teeth
are the most commonly found fossils.
3) Sharks never get cancer. Their cartilage is used in being
studied with the hope of developing anti-cancer drugs.
4) Sharks have been around for more than 300 million years. They
were around before dinosaurs!
5) Sharks' bodies are heavier than the sea, so if they stop moving
they sink. If they want to stay afloat, they must keep moving.
6) There are about 350 different types of sharks, but researchers
think there are other sharks that haven't been discovered yet.
7) A shark is one of the best hunters in the world. Even their
little pups go out looking for food.
8) A shark's hunger can be satisfied with one good meal. The
meal can last a long time because a shark uses little energy to
swim. Some sharks hold food in their stomachs without it being
digested. If they eat a big meal, it can last three or more months.
9) Sharks become immobile when upside down.
10) The Great White shark is the only shark that sticks its head
out of the water to look around.
11) Only a few sharks jump out of the water including the biggest
great white shark.
12) The Bull shark can live in both salt and fresh water.
13) Tiger sharks will eat anything. Most sharks taste and test
things out by tasting them in their mouth, but the difference
between Tiger sharks and all others is no matter what it is, the
tiger shark will eat it, and eventually will have to throw it
up!
14) The Shortfin Mako shark is probably the fastest fish in the
ocean, clocked at about 60 mph.
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TYPES OF SHARKS
Great White: Best known from the movie Jaws,
the Great White is a large, heavy-bodied shark, about 20 feet
long, with large bladelike teeth. Widely the most-feared of sharks,
Great White attacks are rare, and most scientists agree that its
reputation is undeserved. Many scientists believe it is endangered
due to sport fishing and shrinking food supplies.
Tiger: The Tiger shark is considered one of
the most dangerous sharks. It is about 18 feet long and inhabits
shallower water, often where people swim. The diet of tiger sharks
varies widely and includes all types of sea life and even garbage.
Blue: The graceful Blue shark is well known
to scuba divers and commercial fishers - they have been seen circling
divers and have followed fishing boats for days, eating stray
fish.
Mako: Short-fin and long-fin Makos are close
cousins with the Great White shark. They are very fast swimmers
and can reach speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. Mako sharks can
even leap out of the water.
Hammerhead shark: Hammerheads are best known
for their distinctive mallet-shaped heads and widely spaced eyes,
which they swing back and forth while swimming to detect prey.
They are the only species of shark known to travel in schools.
Bull: The Bull shark gets its name from its
snout, which is wider than it is long. It is possibly more dangerous
to humans than the Great White shark because it lives in shallow,
murky water in areas where people swim. The real shark attacks
on which the movie and book Jaws were based were done by a Bull
shark.
SHARK ATTACKS
Provoked attacks are caused by humans touching
sharks. Often this involves unhooking sharks or removing them
from fishing nets. However, recently there have been a number
of incidents involving divers who were attacked after grabbing
or feeding a shark while underwater.
Unprovoked attacks happen when sharks make the first contact.
This can take three forms:
Hit-and-Run Attacks happen near beaches, where
sharks try to make a living capturing fish. In pounding surf,
strong currents, and murky water, a shark may mistake the movements
of humans, usually at the surface, for those of their normal food,
fish. The shark makes one grab, lets go, and immediately leaves
the area. Legs or feet are often bitten; injuries usually are
minor and deaths rarely occur.
Sneak Attacks take place in deeper waters. The
victim doesn't see the shark before the attack. The result can
be serious injury or death, especially if the shark continues
to attack.
Bump-and-Bite Attacks happen when the shark
circles and actually bumps the victim with its head or body before
biting. As in the sneak attack, the shark may attack repeatedly
and cause serious injury or death.
SHARK ATTACK FIGURES
You are over 1,100 times more likely to die in a bicycle accident
then in a shark attack.
Your odds of a drowning death - 1 in 3m
Your odds of a shark attack Death - 1 in 265m
Number of 'unprovoked' shark attacks:
Year 2003: 55 shark attacks - 4 fatalities
Year 2002: 63 shark attacks - 3 fatalities
Year 2001: 68 shark attacks - 4 fatalities
Year 2000: 79 shark attacks - 11 fatalities
More than 90% of people who are attacked by sharks survive the
attack.
Sharks attack more men than women. No one knows why this is the
case!
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