Whale Sharks
True or False: Whale Sharks are the second largest species of shark in the world
FALSE: Whale Sharks are THE largest species of shark, weighing up to 13 tons - the same as TWO African Elephants!
True or False: Sand tiger sharks are also known as red nurse sharks
False: Sand tiger sharks are also know as gray nurse sharks
What do Hammerheads use their head for?
a) Hammering nails
b) Trapping stingrays
c) Measuring width
d) Swimming faster
b) Trapping Stingrays! The hammerhead shark pins stingrays (its favourite food) to the sea floor with its wide, flat head!
True or False: Great White Sharks can have up to 7 rows of sharp teeth
True!
A group of sharks is called a:
a) a fleet
b) a crew
c) a shoal
d) a sharklet
c) a shoal
True or False: Whale sharks can not bite or chew
True! Whale shark's teeth are so tiny that they can only eat small shrimp, fish and plankton by using their gill rakers as a suction filter1
How much does a sand tiger shark weigh?
a) 800-1000 pounds
b) 700-900 pounds
c) 200-300 pounds
True or False: A Hammerhead shark's eyes are on the front of its head
False: The shark's eye placement, on each end of its very wide head, allows it to scan more area more quickly than other sharks can.
How fast can a Great White swim?
a) 60km per hour
b) 30km per hour
c) 150km per hour
d) 10km per hour
a) Great white sharks have a streamlined shape and powerful tails that propel them through the water at over 60km per hour!
True or False: Bull Sharks can survive in fresh water
True: Bull Sharks have developed special adaptations that keep salt in their bodies, enabling them to live in fresh water
How old can a whale shark get?
a) 10
b) 28
c) 150
d) 79
Whale Sharks can get very old, and live for up to 150 years!
Why does a sand tiger shark come to the surface to gulp air?
a) to get a breath of fresh air
b) to put air in its belly so it can float while hunting
c) to see what is happening above the water
b) They are the only sharks that come to the surface to gulp air, but not to breathe. The air ends up in its stomach. The air makes the shark more buoyant, so it can float motionless in the water as it watches for prey!
What super power does a hammerhead shark have for hunting?
a) X-Ray Vision
b) Invisibility
c) Ability to detect electrical fields
d) Ability to camouflage with anything around it
c) Hammerhead sharks have highly specialized sensory organs inside their mallet-shaped head that helps them detect the electrical fields created by prey animals, like stingrays (which usually bury themselves in the sand)
How long can a Great White go without eating after a big meal (like a sea lion)? 1 day, 1 week, 1 month or 1 year?
Great White Sharks can go up to a month without eating another seal or sea lion.
False! Sharks are much older than dinosaurs...sharks have been around for over 400 million years!
Whale Sharks are the size of what vehicle?
a) a limo
b) a Smart Car
c) a fishing boat
d) a school bus
d) a school bus! A whale shark the size of a school bus swims slowly near the surface of the ocean; they can grow to be 18 to 32.8 feet long!
What time of day to sand tiger sharks hunt?
Sand tigers generally hunt at night; just above the ocean floor. Sand tiger sharks like the shallow water close to shore and so have "sand" in their name.
How many species of hammerhead sharks are there?
a) 90
b) 45
c) 13
d) 10
d) there are 10 different species of hammerhead sharks!
1. Winghead shark
2. Scalloped bonnethead
3. Whitefin hammerhead
4. Carolina hammerhead
5. Scoophead
6. Great hammerhead
7. Bonnethead
8. Smalleye hammerhead
9. Smooth hammerhead
10. Scalloped hammerhead
Great white sharks hunt _________________.
a) on the sea floor
b) at the ocean surface
c) both sea floor and surface
c) both sea floor and surface
Great white sharks are opportunistic predators, feeding from the ocean’s surface to the seafloor! As great white sharks grow in size, so does the range of their prey. Smaller great whites prey on fish, rays, and crustaceans and when they are larger also eat seals, sea lions, dolphins, seabirds, marine turtles, rays, and other sharks.
True or False: Sharks skeletons are made of bone
False: Sharks are cartilaginous fish, which means that their skeletons are made up of cartilage - just like the tip of your nose and your ears!
True or False: the opening of a whale shark's throat is covered with about 20 giant teeth!
False: The opening of whale shark’s throat is covered with about 20 giant pads that have hundreds of tiny holes. As the seawater goes in, these pads filter out the food, sort of like a colander catching spaghetti while the cooking water drains out. Then the water escapes through the shark’s gills, and the food is pushed down its throat.
False: Sand tiger sharks look ferocious, but these fish are not very aggressive and are known to attack humans only when bothered first.
True or False: Hammer head sharks can survive being stung by stingrays
True! Humans can be affected by stingray barbs which are sharp and can cause serious health issues, but these sharks don't seem to mind!
True or False: What famous movie starred a great white shark?
"Jaws" created by Steven Spielberg
How many teeth can a shark have? 34, 56, Hundreds or Thousands?
Thousands! Each time a shark loses one of its sharp, triangular teeth, a replacement comes forward to take its place. A shark can grow, lose and replace thousands of teeth in its lifetime!