by sami cook, michelle matuszyk, and caleb streitmatter

By Sami Cook, Michelle By Sami Cook, Michelle Matuszyk, and Caleb Matuszyk, and Caleb

StreitmatterStreitmatter

SensesSenses• Smell-nostrils on bottom of snout draws in water into

olfactory sacs which detect smell

• Vision-similar to human eyes but have structure called tapetum lucidum that increases sensitivity to light, can see 50-60 ft. underwater

• Touch/Feel-skin made of dermal denticles to provide hydrodynamic skin surface

• Electrosensory-highly specialized bioelectrical system used to detect/find prey by detecting electrical currents within electrical fields

• Hearing-ears located inside the head, has sensitive mechanism for interpreting sounds-can hear from kilometers away because sound travels faster underwater

• Taste-can tell energy content of prey on first bite in order to calculate benefits to shark of killing that particular prey

Habitat

• The Great White Shark usually lives near the shore. Its location is located by the red on the map above.

Diet•Fish-Salmon, Hake, Halibut,

Mackerel, and Tuna•Marine Mammals- Harbor

Porpoises/Seals, Other Sharks, Sea Turtles/Birds

•Mollusks•Blubber from dead whale

carcasses

Victim

Shark

Marine BiologistDear Diary- After listening to the boy recount

his shark encounter, I do not even think that it was a Great White that bit him. The boy wasn’t completely sure if it was a shark anyway. Great White sharks are solitary animals, and it is not likely that it would be near the shore if there were many people around.

Great White shark diets mainly consist of marine mammals and fish. It doubtful that the shark mistook the boy for food because sharks have very keen senses, mainly relying on their sense of smell. Humans are definitely not a part of a shark’s diet, and I feel that the boy just wanted to tell a good story and get some attention and sympathy.

Sheriff•Dear Diary,

–Today a young man claimed to have been attacked by a Great White Shark. I’m not sure whether I believe him because those sharks are not known to attack human beings. They choose to prey on smaller animals with high energy level contents.

–However, he was surfing in the ocean where the sharks usually live although he may have been too close to the shore for the shark to reach him. Furthermore, he has no teeth marks from this alleged attack. If a Great White Shark had bitten and released him, he would have been severely hurt by that single bite. I do not believe this attack actually happened; I think the teenager is trying to get attention.