Top Ten Deadliest Sharks to Humans

Top Ten Deadliest Sharks to Humans

10. Lemon Shark The Lemon Shark is ranked as #10 mostly due to it's sense of sight. The average life span of a Lemon Shark is 40-50 years. The average length of a Lemon Shark is 8-10 feet, the largest caught on record was 12 feet. The Lemon Shark does not need to swim constantly to survive. It will often lie on the sandy ocean floor during the day. Lemon Sharks prefer warm, shallow waters. Lemon Sharks have an "eyelid" called the nictitating membrane which they can open and close at will. Generally they remain open unless the shark is attacking, in which case it is closed to help protect their eyes.

9. Blue Shark Blue Sharks are #9 due to their tenacity. Tenacity meaning persistent in maintaining or adhering to something valued or habitual. Once a Blue Shark gets its mind set on capturing something, it will not give up until it succeeds. Blue Sharks are an Endangered Shark due to over-fishing. They are found worldwide and have an especially particular migration pattern. Blue Sharks can grow up to 12.5 feet. The Atlantic Blue Sharks migrate across the Atlantic Ocean each year, following the warm Gulf Stream waters on their eastward trip. They travel a circuit from the Caribbean Sea, along the coast of the U.S.A., east to Europe, South to the African coast and back to the Caribbean.

8. Hammerhead Shark The Hammerhead Sharks is #8 due to its agility, and due to the form of its head, it has an increased sense of vibration. Thus, sensing other animals in its domain easier than an average shark. The Hammerhead swims in relatively warm water along the coastlines, and they generally live over the continental shelves and the adjacent drop-offs in depths of up to 260 feet (80m). The Hammerhead Sharks off the coasts of Hawaii are in danger every year. Every year, approximately 100,000 tons of sharks are caught in Hawaiian waters, and another 150 metric tons are brought to Hawaii from other Pacific locations. Of this total, about 86% are killed only for their fins (believed to be an aphrodisiac) and like the Canadian Buffalo, the remaining carcasses are discarded. A lot of the time the sharks are dumped back into the ocean half-dead.

7. Sand Tiger Shark The Sand Tiger Shark is #7 due to its severe teeth. In South Africa, Sand Tiger Sharks are frequently called 'Ragged Tooth'. In Australia, Sand Tiger Sharks are frequently called Grey Nurse Sharks. Sand Tiger Sharks tend to be found in masses around shipwrecks and oceanic plane crashes. Sand Tigers on average grow to be approximately 9 feet, and the largest on record was 15 feet.

6. Grey Reef Shark The Grey Reef Shark is #6 due to its competitiveness. In a large group of Grey Reef sharks, a person must be very careful. The tend to fight over food, and have even been known to attack each other in mass feedings. The sharks are copious in the Great Barrier Reef. Grey Reef Sharks are decreasing in numbers, and are very close to being put on the Endangered Species list.

5. Shortfin Mako Shortfin Mako's are #5 due to their agility and speed. Mako's have been clocked at 30 mph, making them the fastest shark in the ocean. The average size of a Mako is 5-8 feet but they have been seen up to 12 feet long. Mako's are exceptional jumpers, and have been seen to out-jump Blue Marlins. They are found worldwide in temperate and tropical seas. In many shark species, the female shark is larger than the male shark, and the Shortfin Mako is one of these species.

4. Oceanic White Tip Oceanic White Tip Sharks are #4 due to their advanced sense of smell. For some reason these particular sharks have a more advanced sense of smell than most other sharks in the world. White Tip's live in all open oceans, and are abundant around the world. They are actually thought to be the most abundant shark in the ocean, which also makes them dangerous.

Tiger Sharks are #3 due simply to the fact that they will eat anything. Actually, maybe eat is the wrong word. Tiger Sharks will taste anything that crosses their path and looks like food. On average they grow to be around 10 feet, but have been found up to 20 feet long. Tiger Sharks tend to stay close to the Equator, but are also found in some temperate seas. Tiger Sharks are also solitary animals who generally only get together to mate. 3. Tiger Shark

2. Great White Shark Great White Sharks re #2 due to the fact that they're legendary, and do have the most human kills under their fins. They are generally 12-16 feet, but have been found up to 23 feet long. Great White's tend to be solitary animals, meeting only to breed. They are also the only sharks other than Mako's which have been seen jumping out of the water. These large sharks have been found to come up from underneath an animal such as a seal, and as it is catching its prey in its mouth, it jumps out of the water. This is what has given Great Whites the nickname 'Air Jaws'. Great White's are a protected species along California, most of the U.S.A., Australia and South Africa.

1. Bull Shark Bull sharks are #1 due to the fact that somehow they can live in either Salt Water or Fresh Water. Following the discoveries of new information about these extraordinary animals, scientists now also believe that many attacks attributed to Great White Sharks, probably we in fact Bull Shark attacks. The average male Bull Shark is about 7 feet, and the average female grows to be about 11.5 feet. These sharks are also especially dangerous because they tend to stay close to shore, and have been found in fresh water bodies including the Mississippi River, the Amazon River, Lake Nicaragua and the Zambezi River.