We love sharks because they’re beautiful, interesting, and well, why not? Avid nature lovers may know what makes these swimmers so gosh darn cool, but here’s some extra sharks facts just in case you haven’t fallen in love with them yet!
1. Out of every animal on the planet (yes, every single one), sharks have the most powerful jaws. That’s more powerful than alligators, crocodiles, and snapping turtles. So obviously, they’re a step above the rest.
2. A shark’s teeth are designed to suit their diet and vary between different types of sharks. Here’s the cool part – a shark can grow and use more than 20,000 teeth over their lifetime!
3. Sharks cannot run out of teeth! Unlike humans, if they lose one it grows right back, over and over and over.
4. Female sharks can have one to 100 babies in their lifetime. Baby sharks are none as pups.
5. They way pups are born varies between different species of shark. They can either hatch from eggs laid by the mom, hatch from eggs inside the mom, or like humans, pups grow fully inside the mother.
6. Sharks are great predators because they have “super senses.” In fact, two-thirds of a shark’s brain is dedicated to their sense of smell!
7. Sharks also have the ability to sense vibrations in the water and the electrical energy surrounding their prey.
8. The basking shark – one of the largest species – is also the most harmless. These gentle giants eat plankton, and capture by swimming around with their mouths wide open!
If you’re super interested in sharks, and want to learn more about them, check out sharkfacts.org.