Shark mag

Are Bull Sharks domesticated today?

Are they found

near your

home?

Fun Facts and more

Bull Shark

Scientific name: Carcharhinus leucas

These sharks are known for their

aggression. An average adult weighs

380 lbs! They tend to hunt in waters

where people often swim: along

tropical shorelines. Bull sharks live

throughout the world, in shallow, warm

ocean waters. They've been known to

swim up into freshwater rivers. Humans

are not part of a bull shark's normal

prey however, bull sharks will eat

almost anything. Their diet consists

mainly of fish. They also sometimes eat

dolphins and sea turtles. Bull sharks

even eat other sharks.

These animals are

not to messed with.

They are a lot closer

than you think.

When you go

swimming in

Galveston or fishing

in West Matagorda

Bay, be aware of the

dangers. They are

not common pets.

(Warning: video contains language that,

while arguably appropriate given the

circumstances, might be considered

offensive by some.)

https://www.youtube.com/w

atch?v=ZcuYjDR2tSg&feature

=youtu.be

A Bull Shark gets to the prey

before a woman can reel it in.

Houston Chronicle July 12,

2012

These animals are fierce

predators but can also be

prey to other animals in

the sea and humans!

Adaptations

The Bull Shark is a unique shark that can live in both

ocean and fresh water. They can adapt readily to fresh

water because they can adapt their process of

osmogregulation. The kidneys of bull sharks can be

gradually adjusted to suit the salinity of the water they

are in. When moved gradually into freshwater (perhaps

by migrating from the ocean, to an estuary, and then

upriver), bull sharks' kidney's remove less salt and more

urea from the bloodstream through urination, essentially

reversing the normal marine shark method of

osmoregulation. This adaptation allows bull sharks to live

entirely in estuaries or freshwater. This could be an

adaptation that the bull sharks developed over many

years to help survive and be able to reproduce.

Female Bull Sharks can have anywhere from 1-13 pups (babies) in one litter.

Even though the Great White shark is the most dangerous shark in the world, the Bull Shark is the most dangerous shark to humans.

In order to get away, bull sharks employ a special technique – they throw up! The predator gets distracted by the vomit and the bull shark gets a chance to escape.

Females are larger than males on average and can reach weight of 500 pounds and length of 5 feet.

When a Bull shark looses a tooth, it's replaced every single time unlike us that only grow back once.

Resources

10 Interesting Facts About Bull Sharks! (2015, June 03). Retrieved June

27, 2016, from http://ipfactly.com/10-interesting-facts-about-bull-

sharks/

Bull Sharks - Bull Shark Pictures - Bull Shark Facts - National

Geographic. (n.d.). Retrieved June 27, 2016, from

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/bull-shark/

Bull shark Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved June 27, 2016, from

http://www.softschools.com/facts/animals/bull_shark_facts/287/

How Bull Sharks Can Live in Both Ocean and Fresh Water. (n.d.).

Retrieved June 27, 2016, from

http://www.sharksavers.org/en/education/biology/how-bull-sharks-

survive-in-fresh-water/

It’s a shark! One fishing trip they won’t soon forget (w/video). (2012).

Retrieved June 27, 2016, from

http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/07/its-a-shark-one-fishing-trip-

they-wont-soon-forget-wvideo/