For years, sharks have been represented in the media as water monsters ready to eat you. The reality couldn't be further away from this. Every year, shark attacks account for around 4 deaths. Cows kill around 20 people a year, and bees around 53! Yet the worse ones are mosquitos, who kill around 725,000 people every year.
Here are some facts about sharks and why we have to fight to protect them.
143 of these are under threat, according to IUCN
They can sense the electric field of animals in the water with their snout, which helps them to hunt
From the cute pijama sharks, that show lines in their bodies (as if they are wearing an actual pj) to hammerhead sharks, to the enormous whale shark and the prehistoric-looking ghost shark, each species has a very unique look to them.
As apex predators, they keep ecosystems healthy by removing the sick and the weak, and keeping the populations under them in the food chain in balance. A ocean full of sharks is an indication of a healthy ocean.
Their life span is of at least 272 years, and they don't reach sexual maturity until they are 134!
From bycatch, to ghost nets, loss of habitat and climate change, these creatures, that have been living on earth for the past 400 million years, are facing their biggest challenge to date
Because of their nature, sharks are particularly vulnerable animals; they take a long time to reach maturity and their pregnancies are long, and produce few babies at a time. The current pressure put on them is making their populations decline drastically, at an alarming rate. This is one more reason why it's important for all of us to learn and do our best to protect our oceans. Click on the button for a few tips on what you can do to help save sharks