A notice before I get to my Thursday Thirteen:
I’m visiting Chris Redding and talking about writing plus my upcoming release Cat Burglar in Training.
Hubby went fishing last weekend, and he rang to tell me about the shark he caught. He was fishing in the Hauraki Gulf and totally inspired this post.
Thirteen Types of Sharks
1. Blacktip Reef shark – they hang around reefs and grow up to six feet long.
2. Bull shark – this shark does well in both salt and fresh water. It’s the third most dangerous shark to people.
3. Great White shark – anyone remember Jaws? We have a lot of this variety of shark. They attack more people than any other type of shark.
4. Hammerhead shark – this is the one that hubby caught. See above photo. They removed the hook and released it after taking a photo.
5. Mako shark – a very fast swimmer. It’s a jumper and sometimes jumps into boats.
6. Nurse shark – these are common in aquariums. They hunt at night and sleep by day.
7. Sandtiger shark – another shark that hunts at night. The female shark has two uterus. The strongest one eats the other before they are born.
8. Tiger shark – this one is also known for attacks on humans. They eat anything. Things such as boat cushions and alarm clocks have been found in their stomachs.
9. Whale shark – the largest of all sharks.
10. White Tip Reef shark – the most common shark encountered by divers and snorkelers on tropical reefs.
11. Wobbegong shark – this is an Australian/Pacific shark, and it lies on the bottom of the ocean waiting for fish to come near.
12. Zebra shark – this is a small and gentle shark, which is often kept in aquariums with other fish.
13. Thresher shark – this shark has a long tail, which it uses to help catch its food.
Okay, who watched Jaws, and how long did it take you to get back in the water? I watched the movie with my brother. For a long time after seeing it, whenever I went swimming I’d keep touching my legs to make sure they were still there!
The only one I’ve ever seen (and touched) is a nurse shark, at the acquarium in New Orleans. I have also never seen Jaws. It’s not that I have avoided the movie, I just never seem to be home when it’s on TV.
They played the Jaws movies on TV down here in NZ not long ago. I watched them and really liked the first one. The shark didn’t look as real as I remembered when I was a kid. I was quietly pleased about that. Modern special effects would have scared me silly!
After watching jaws, I had to remind myself that there are no fresh water sharks.
Of course now I know better. I’ve wathced River Monsters and round out that the bull shark is at home in fresh as well as salt water. If I knew that than I would never swim in a lake again, lol.
But the bull shark has never been found in the lakes and rivers in the Central Valley of California where I live. However, they have been found up the Mississippi. *shiver*
Janice~
The fresh water shark surprised me. I hadn’t heard that. I obviously need to watch River Monsters.
I am not fond of swimming in the ocean. I did as a child . Now I wonder if that movie had something to do with it.
Could be, Debra :)
Ha! I can’t swim so I never went into the water. But when I lived in SE Texas we used to go down to the Gulf of Mexico and reel in small sharks from the pier.
They are very good eating.
They are good to eat. A lot of the time when you order fish and chips in NZ you’ll get shark. Of course they call it lemon fish but it’s the same thing :)
I have never seen Jaws, nor have I ever seen a shark except in an aquarium. This is very interesting information. The two uteruses in a sandtiger shark is especially intriguing.
I thought that was an interesting fact. Of course, no so great for the shark that gets eaten before birth!
I watched Jaws as teen when it first came out. *shudder* I live nearly smack dab in the geographical center of the North American Continent, and that’s just fine with me, thank you.
But that pic of your hubby with the shark is cool.
Evidently my SIL was all for them cutting the line instead of bringing it in, removing the hook and releasing it again.
I’ve never encountered a shark in my ocean experiences, but I have seen them off the coast of North Carolina, many, many years ago when my family was there on holiday.
Fascinating, but still a little scary, even now.
Happy TT!
I prefer a healthy distance, myself!
I love these informative posts! That picture with the shark is awesome.
Thanks, Brinda. Hubby was very pleased with his catch, and rang to tell me about the experience.
We did the shark cage thing in Hawaii and so loved it! They’re such beautiful and fascinating animals!
*hugs*
Paige
My TT is at http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com/
As I said, a healthy distance, and they’re interesting to look at!
No Jaws for me thank you. We did go to Oceanworld in Crescent City, California and the kids got to pet some small, baby tiger sharks. It was awesome.
The markings on the tiger sharks are cool. Hubby has snorkeled with reef sharks and enjoyed that.
Wow, your husband caught a shark? That’s amazing. And thanks for teaching me about other sharks.
http://otherworlddiner.blogspot.com/2012/02/celebration-of-love-and-loversthirteen.html
They often catch small sharks while fishing, so there must be a lot around.
We use to see those hammerheads all the time while on vacation.
Have a great Thursday!
http://harrietandfriends.com/2012/02/74-would-rather-go-bald-than-have-what/
They’re quite cute, I thought :)
We have a thing called Shark Reef here in Las Vegas at one of the Hotels where you can go and touch some baby sharks. It’s pretty cool.
I love Jaws, I think I’ve seen it 20 times or more. I never went in the water more than up to my knee’s because when I lived in California..I never knew how to swim. I was 16 years old and living in an apartment complex that had a poll…before I taught myself how to swim. I still won’t swim in the ocean though…lol
Jaws is a fun movie. I love the line about getting a bigger boat :)
I can’t believe how casually he’s holding that thing. Unless it’s already dead, or has all it’s teeth knocked out.
It was very much alive. They released it after the photo, and it swam away.
When I was young and we lived on Kangaroo Island it was a common activity for the school holidays to work on the shark boats long-lining in the Investigator Passage between the Island and the mainland of Australia. The usual job was baiting the hooks as they went over the side, so we were on the opposite side to where they handled the sharks as they came on board. The most dangerous time was when they came across a batch of sharks freshly hooked and still lively, for the blood in the water could trigger a feeding frenzy among the sharks as they came alongside, all threshing around and biting anything close. On those occasions we were ordered to the top of the wheelhouse until things calmed down again.
Another school holiday job was gathering cockles on the sandbars at low tide with a rake and it was not uncommon for sharks to swim in the channel between us and the shore, so I have a respect for sharks but no real fear.
That sounds very exciting…from a distance!
I, too, prefer to observe them rather than get up close and personal.
Oddly, my daughter has never seen the movie Jaws but she has a distinct fear of sharks. I don’t know where she got the fear from, though sharks are a reasonable thing to be afraid of.
That is strange. Maybe she needs to watch Jaws to see the good guys winning in the end?
I almost didn’t stop by when I saw it was about sharks. I have a serious phobia. But after seeing just the one picture it’s not so bad.
Jaws was a distinct memory in my childhood and meant most of my beach vacations with my family were spent on the shore or in shallow waters with the babies. LOL
Happy TT
Kay
And it was only a baby shark. :)
Interesting facts! Thanks for sharing!
You always teach me something new…
It was years before I went in the water after seeing Jaws. So glad your husband ‘catched and released’.