Sharks are one of those creatures that can strike fear in the hearts of all those who see it.

However, despite its scary appearance, the shark is highly misunderstood. Let’s take a bite outta the myths surrounding our friend the shark with these “shark-tastic” facts!

1. Sharks Don’t Hunt Humans

The movies like to make us think that sharks are out to hunt people. That’s plain wrong. Most of the “attacks” on humans are just inquisitive nips or mistakes due to poor water visibility. This is why there are more shark bites than fatalities (deaths).  

2. Sharks Rarely Get Sick

The shark’s tissue has an anticoagulant (thins the blood) and antibacterial (resists bacteria) properties. Scientists are busy studying the shark in hopes of finding treatments for conditions such as viruses and some forms of cancer.

3. Female Sharks Don’t Need Males to Reproduce

Most living creatures need both a male and female to reproduce. Not the female shark. Her eggs can fertilize themselves.

4. Sharks Have a Sixth Sense

The shark can detect electrical fields being emitted from other creatures. A specialized organ in the snout enables the shark to pick up on the tiny electrical pulses emitted from the muscle movements or the beating hearts of potential prey.

5. Some Sharks Don’t Produce a Shadow

The Lantern Shark can glow to disguise itself from its prey in the deep ocean. It can emit the same amount of light as that which is filtering down from above. This way it won’t create a ‘shadow. The Velvet Belly Lantern Shark has glowing spines that may be used to ward off predators.

6. Humans Are the Sharks Worst Enemy

For every one human killed by a shark, 25 million sharks are killed by humans!

This is mainly due to the barbaric practice of shark finning (just the fins are severed from the shark’s body).

Many regions are now banning the practice of shark finning and are not allowing the fins into their countries.

Have you changed your mind about the shark? Is it still a scary animal or just really misunderstood? Let us know in the comments section.