Movies such as “Jaws” and “Deep Blue Sea” have contributed to giving a bad reputation to sharks. When you consider all the facts compared to the Hollywood version, the question we can ask ourselves is: “Are all types of sharks man eaters?” Let’s look at some facts about sharks!

Fact #1: “Did you know that 80% of shark species are either unable or unlikely to even come in contact with humans?” In fact, most of the 375 to 475 known types of sharks are gentle and a lot smaller than the fierce Great White shark.

Fact #2: “Did you know that 80% of all types of sharks are smaller than 6.5 feet in length while 50% of them measure less than 3.5 feet in length.” This simply means that sharks this small are likely to be lacking interest towards human preys.

Fact #3: “Did you know that it is not true that the largest the shark, the more likely it is to attack humans and be referred to as man eaters?” In fact, the two largest sharks living in our oceans are also known as gentle giants? Yes, while the Whale shark and the Basking shark are in fact plankton eaters which explain the fact that humans do not even look appetizing to them.

Fact #4: “Did you know that of all the shark species, there are four types that are more likely to attack humans?” As you can see, four species is far from being even close to the 375 to 475 types of sharks that ended up sharing the bad reputation of man eaters. While 20% of all known shark species are considered potentially dangerous to humans, there are only a few that may attack human preys out of confusion or when feeling threatened. These species are: the Great White shark, the Tiger shark, the Bull shark and the Great Hammerhead shark.

Fact #5: “Did you know that shark attacks are not planned like in “Jaws”? Sharks brain is not big enough to “think things through” like humans. In fact, sharks only react by instinct. It sees something that is in the water, it is hungry, and it may decide to taste it. It can be a man, a can, a license plate or anything else for that matter. More than likely, after the first bite, it will let go of its human prey as it is too bony for their own taste, contrary to a seal or a sea lion.

Fact #6: “Did you know that some sharks can even be trained in aquariums?” In fact, it is done at the Chicago’s John G. Shedd Aquarium. They have not been training them tricks to perform in a show but for feeding purposes. Since they put all their shark species in the same tank, to avoid a feeding frenzy, they have trained each specie to respond to their own auditory call as well as a colored and high-contrast symbol when their feeding time has come. The most responsive specie is the Zebra shark which responds well to the touch and act like a well-trained puppy, enjoying being petted on their stomach and on the snout. As you can see, not all sharks attack humans.

Fact #7: “Did you know that most types of sharks actually have impressive eyesight?” The specie that has the best eyesight is actually the Hammerhead shark because of the position of his eyes on the far side of its hammer shape snout. The specie that has one of the poorest eyesight is actually the Greenland shark since it prefers swimming close to the ocean floor and in colder waters, it has actual parasites growing on its eyes, almost blinding it. Although most sharks have better eyesight than us, it still can get confused and attack humans thinking of them as a seal, especially when lying on their stomach on a surfboard. Why? It is simply because since sharks tend to go full tilt from underneath their prey to take it by surprise, the shadow against the light plays tricks with their vision.

Now that you read all these facts, you can understand why experts dislike the fact that all types of sharks were given a bad reputation as man eaters by Hollywood.