Shark Persuasive Essay

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It is estimated that one hundred million sharks are killed by humans each year. This is due to hunting sharks for food and trade. As the demand for shark fins, teeth and skin has increased, so has the mortality of these exotic creatures. Popular movies such as “Jaws” and “The Meg” have made sharks feared as monsters by the general public. . An article written by Susannah Bragg McCullough stated, “This is the one adverse, really negative thing that came out of Jaws: ever since this movie came out, shark-killing contests are run all over the world..” Sharks are not the big and ferocious beasts that so many books and movies say that they are.

Shark deaths might decline if the humans who hunted sharks knew more about them. Sharks tend to …show more content…

Along the skin covering the shark are sharp tiny thorns, known as denticles. If rubbed the wrong way, they can penetrate skin. Sharks’ skeletal strucutres are made of cartilage. This acts like a bone for the shark. Cartilage is half the weight of human bones, and it is more flexible. Sharks lack a swim bladderthat allows skeletal fish to swim in the water without the work of staying afloat. However, cartilage provides a simple solution since it is much lighter than bone and allows the shark to float in the water. The jaw of the shark is different than humans as well. Most animals’ lower jaw can move without restriction, but the upper jaw is attached securely to the skull. Sharks upper jaw, however, is located under the skull and can detach when attacking prey. The shark thrusts the entire jaw forward into the prey, for a more powerful bite. Sharks other advantage over their prey in their teeth. Shark teeth depend on their diet. Teeth like spikes are used for gripping small prey, long curvet teeth used for slippery fish. Some sharks have serrated teeth. These act like a hunter's knife that can, they cut easily through bone and flesh. Along with that, almost every shark contains 15 rows of jagged teeth. If the shark loses one, it could be replaced in only a day. Most sharks tend to lose a tooth a

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