A Shark!
With a head shaped like a hammer!
Nature always finds a way to delight, doesn’t it.
Hammerhead sharks and their ancestors have swum the oceans for 20 million years.
But what if they died out?
Hello and welcome back to the Most Amazing channel on the internet.
I am your host Rebecca Felgate and today I am asking What if Hammerhead Sharks Went Extinct?
For one thing, the oceans would get far less….
Well...you can’t see the gesture I am making but it involves hands at the side of my head.
Before I get into answering this question, why don’t you let me know what your favourite
animal is and why in the comments section down below.
I love dogs the most but I guess I am exposed to them more than other creatures and they
play well with humans ...other than that though I love elephants because they’re sweet natured
and very intelligent.
So… hammerhead sharks.
Hammerhead sharks are a group of sharks in the Sphy-rni-dae family.
What the sharks have in common is their unusual shaped head, with eyes at the side of their
distinctive hammerheads.
There are several breeds of hammerhead; the Great Hammerhead, The Smalleye Hammerhead,
the Smooth Hammerhead, the Scalloped Hammerhead, the Carolina Hammerhead, the Winghead Shark,
the Bonnethead, the Scalloped Bonnethead and the Scoophead.
The Winghead, Scalloped hammerhead and great hammerhead are officially endangered right
now, with the all but the bonnethead a concern.
So...there is a very real possibility that Hammerheads could go extinct in our lifetime.
The reason for this is as a result of overfishing and hunting for their fins.
Shark fins, as you may or may not know, is an awful and wasteful practice in which Shark’s
fins are cut for a food delicacy.
Once the fin has been cut off, the fish is thrown back into the sea, where it dies from
its injury.
Hammerheads aren’t a threat to humans.
According to the International Shark Attack file, there have only been 17 recorded unprovoked
attacks from hammerheads on people.
If they went extinct it is not like humans would be affected in terms of not being offed
a la Jaws style...surfers would continue at risk as normal.
The main human killer is of course the Great White Shark.
SO, what would happen?
Well...it would be very disturbing for marine ecosystems.
When an animal that has been around for 20 million years dies out predicting the knock
on effect is pretty hard, seeing as the animal is so ingrained into the food chain.
A few examples so you get the idea.
According to scientists who know a little more about ecosystems than me, an ocean without
sharks in general would mean an underwater swamp with far too much algae.
Without the sharks to eat the species that prey on the algae-eaters, those algae-eaters
will decline, leading to an accumulation of algae swamps everything else.
Another example, or a case study if you will, when the shark population of the Eastern Seaboard
of the USA took a nose dive in the earlier part of the decade, it seems that shellfish
started dying out too!
This was because bigger sharks weren't around to eat and compete with rays, skates and smaller
sharks so they thrived, meaning they were having an absolute banquet eating all the
shellfish in the hood.
As you can see, the ecosystem, the foodchain is a delicate thing.
Remove one element, and it can be whacked way off kilter, affecting our own food sources.
Beyond the issue of the marine ecosystem, Hammerhead sharks play a very important role
in a lot of cultures across the world.
In native Hawaiian lore, Hammerhead sharks are considered to be gods of the sea and protectors
of humans.
Some believe sharks are reincarnated humans of prominence and children who are born with
the hammerhead shark as their animal sign are believed to be destined to be sea warriors
who sail the oceans.
Oddly, Hammerhead sharks don’t really swim through the waters of Maui, but a lot of Maui
natives believe that their swimming by is a sign that the gods are watching over the
families, and the oceans are clean and balanced.
SO we already get the oceans are cleaned and balanced bit - there is scientific evidence
to back that up - so if that is legit, then what about the spiritual part?
I know there a lot of skeptics out there and I understand that, I do, but perhaps there
is something to it.
If the hammerhead sharks are consider good omens, protectors and even gods, it would
be bad news without them indeed….and...to be honest….no matter what you believe in
thats true.
If they do go extinct as per the current trend it will be directly the fault of humans.
We have been here just 200,000 years and we’re killing an animal that has been here 100 times
longer than us?
That is not cool.
Not cool indeed...and a signifier of things to come.
SO what do you think to this?
And what do you think would happen if hammerhead sharks went extinct?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section down below.
Also don’t forget to let me know what animal is your favourite and why!
Perhaps you love sharks like a certain Holly Mingay I know ...friend...all shark videos
are dedicated to you.
Comments from What would Happen if the Moon DIsappeared….if
you havent watched that video yet please do!
Victor Reeds said: I love the way Rebecca presents!
It keeps me coming back for more LBQ’s Good work
Marv: If the moon disappeared i would find out were the moon is and force it back home
- LOL I enjoy the though of that...like...BAD MOON…..
Get home.
I’ve always considered myself a bit of
a bad moon!