- Hi, my name's Jillian
and I am a Senior Aquarist at Georgia Aquarium
and I'm here
in our shark's Predators of the Deep gallery,
(shark splashing)
and I will be answering your most Googled shark questions.
(shark splashing)
So our first question is,
"Can sharks be trained?"
Well, most animals can be trained
if you have the right reinforcement.
So what we use here at Georgia Aquarium,
is called positive reinforcement,
where we reward the desired behavior
and simply ignore undesired behavior.
And depending on the species,
sharks can be trained to either come to a specific location
and feed off tongs,
or like our zebra sharks here,
they can be trained to do more advanced behaviors,
like resting on guests' laps.
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"Do sharks really attack humans?"
So the likelihood of you getting attacked by a shark
is extremely rare.
In 2020,
there were only 57 unprovoked shark attacks worldwide.
But if you do happen to get bit by a shark,
it's usually for a couple reasons.
One, is mistaken identity.
The shark simply thinks you're a prey item.
It might be murky visibility conditions.
They can't see you properly.
The second, is they're defending a territory.
Third, you might actually scare a shark.
We are kind of big and sometimes they do get frightened.
And lastly, they don't have hands to explore their world,
so instead they're using their mouths
and that can result in an exploratory bite.
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"Can sharks sense blood?"
Well sharks have a very keen sense of smell
so they absolutely can smell blood in the water.
Now, if you happen to be bleeding in the water,
that doesn't mean
that sharks are immediately going to come over to you.
We are not their natural prey items.
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"Do sharks lay eggs?"
So, sharks have several means of reproduction,
but they fall under two main categories.
So the first, is egg-laying,
where an embryo will develop
inside this tough leathery case
that's externally laid by the mother.
And once she deposits eggs on the ocean bottom,
she kind of leaves them.
Then we have our sharks that are live-bearing.
So what that means,
is the embryo is retained inside the uterus of the mother
for its entire period of development
and then she gives birth to live young.
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"Do sharks really die if they stop swimming?"
In order to breathe,
sharks have to move water over their gills
so that they can pull oxygen out of the water
and for gas exchange to occur.
Now, some sharks have the ability
to actively pump water over their gills using their mouth.
So a lot of your bottom-dwelling species,
like our zebra sharks here
can actually sit on the bottom, not really moving,
and they're able to pump water over their gills
and they breathe totally fine.
Now, other species like our hammerheads,
they can't do that.
They don't have that ability.
So instead, they do have to continuously keep moving
in a forward direction.
They usually have their mouth open just a little bit
so that water can flow over those gills
and gas exchange can take place.
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"How and when do sharks sleep?"
So this is a fascinating question
and it's something that we're still investigating.
So we know that sharks definitely undergo a rest period,
where they have decreased motor activity
and response to stimuli.
And there's lots of bottom-dwelling sharks
that can sit on the ocean bottom,
motionless, with their eyelids halfway closed
in a sleep like state.
What's really interesting
is when we talk about those sharks
that have to continuously keep swimming.
So there's three ideas on how they sleep.
One, is that they shut down one part of their brain
and keep the other part active,
much like your toothed whales,
like a sperm whale.
The second,
is they pretty much allow their entire brain to sleep
and then ride ocean currents
and allow water to pass over their gills
with their mouth gaping open.
And then the last theory,
is that they're shutting down most of their brain,
except for those few pathways that control tail movement,
which allows them to keep swimming.
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"What types of animals do sharks eat?"
Sharks eat an array of animals
and it's usually dependent on the habitat in which they live
as well as the shape of their teeth.
So for example,
some sharks only eat really small invertebrates in the sand,
like sea urchins, crabs, shrimps.
Others, like our sand tigers, they eat primarily fish.
And then you have some sharks, like tiger sharks,
that eat birds, mammals, sea turtles,
even other large sharks.
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"How fast do sharks swim?"
Again, this depends on the species.
Some sharks swim rather slow,
like our zebra sharks,
and others, like the shortfin mako,
which is one of the fastest fish,
can clock up to speeds of 43 miles per hour.
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"Where do the most dangerous sharks live?"
According to the International Shark Attack File,
the most unprovoked attacks occur firstly, in the US,
then in Australia,
then in the Republic of South Africa.
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"What should you do if you encounter a shark in the ocean?"
You just want to remain calm.
The best thing to do is avoid a lot of splashing,
slowly make your way out of the water,
and ideally,
you want to keep your eyes on the shark the whole time.
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"What is the largest shark?"
The largest shark,
as well as the largest fish,
is the whale shark,
which we do have here at Georgia Aquarium,
and they can reach lengths up to 40 feet long.
Sharks are very vital to our ecosystems
and they do keep our oceans healthy.
So if you'd like to get up close and personal to sharks,
you can join us here at Georgia Aquarium
in our Shark and Ray Immersion,
or if you're feeling a little adventurous,
you can join us in our cage dive program.
For more information,
or if you wish to donate
to our global conservation and research efforts,
you can visit us@georgiaaquarium.org.
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