The Bull Sharks: A Description Of The Bull Shark

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Malia Lee Marine Biology Mr. Girod April 28, 2014 The Bull Shark The Carcharhinus leucas commonly called the "bull shark" is a very unique shark. The bull shark can live in both salt water and fresh water but is commonly found along the Mississippi River and around Nicaragua. The bull sharks has a very blunt rounded nose giving it a bullish type of appearance thus giving it the name bull shark. The sharks are a dark black to a light grey with a white underbelly. Bull sharks can grow to be about 350 cm long and weigh around 230 kilograms. Bull sharks also tend to have smaller eyes compared to many other sharks which indicates that the bull sharks have limited vision. The bull sharks have triangular teeth like the great white shark (one of the bull sharks cousins). The bulls teeth are heavily serrated and are about 1.5 inches long which makes it easy to tear apart the flesh of their prey. The bull shark may be known to thrive in the Mississippi River and around Nicaragua but are wide spread throughout the world. The bull sharks have an ability to penetrate far up bays and rivers. Some bull sharks have even been found as far as a couple hundred kilometers from the sea. Bull sharks have also been found in Potomac river. Potomac river is located in southern Maryland and is about 405 miles away from the ocean. There has never been a reported shark attack in Maryland which seems crazy now knowing that bull sharks have been found only 200 yards away from the point lookout state park in Maryland. What is crazy is that bull sharks have the abilities to travel in many different environments and depths but tends to stay in shallow waters between 3-30 meters of water. The anatomy of a bull shark is very unique beca... ... middle of paper ... ...o attack humans but usually mistake them for other prey. The bull shark may be responsible for many shark attacks in the world but I believe that we have no right to kill them. Sharks are very important to animals food cycles and if the food cycles get messed up it can greatly effect the world. In fact, the bull shark is more vulnerable to human impact due to their ability to live in fresh and salt water but many sharks that are killed are for either shark fin soup or their liver oil. The sharks liver oil has many uses now but it started as a machine lubricant. Another way that sharks die is by recreational fishing. The sharks can get caught up in the fishermen's nets and eventually suffocate and die. As an environmental community, I feel like we need to inform people about shark habits and how to keep sharks safe. The water is their home and we are

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