Shark Week is an annual event that features shark programming exclusively on the Discovery Channel. Television shows that air on Shark Week include Bear VS Shark, Shaq Does Shark Week, Alien Sharks: Greatest Hits, Ronda Rousey Uncaged, and Great White Abyss. Sharks have rough skin, but there's much to admire about these marine creatures. Stay out of the water since a shark's bite is worse than its bark.
Since shark species can be enormous in size, they need to consume quite a bit. A great white shark weighing approximately 2,000 pounds needs to consume at least 66 pounds of food every 15 days. Sharks are becoming endangered due to overfishing and pollution. Sharks' eating habits are why we must be environmentally aware. Although the great white population is not endangered, it could be if its sources of food are depleted.
There's much to learn about sharks on Shark Week. Most importantly, the event suggests that it's not a brilliant plan to swim in shark-infested waters. Sharks hunt for food during the morning, daytime, and night. Without proper equipment, you could be a shark's next meal. These are 25 pics of shark week that show why we should stay out of the water.
25 Legendary Creature Of The Sea
Even from within a cage, it can be dangerous to be near a great white shark. Great white sharks weigh over two tons, making them capable of heavy hits. Do not attempt to stick a limb or other body part near the edge of a cage with an approaching great white.
Although there could be bait in the water, great whites may not head directly for the bait and are for the most part, unpredictable. As an aquatic animal, which is capable of smelling blood from three miles away, it's understandable how the great white shark is not extinct. Being struck by a great white shark is comparable to being hit by a truck; the size and weight of a great white shark are similar.
24 Avoid The Waters At All Cost
Undoubtedly, you don't want to put your hands in the water when on a boat near a great white shark—they will try to bite you. They don't have hands, so they bite objects out of curiosity. Like lions who attack other lions, sharks can attack other sharks.
Sharks do not sleep like humans, when they sleep they remain active.
They have to move to get oxygen in their body, so they might sleep while swimming. Sharks also defecate. They can poop on scientists who are so busy trying to avoid being bitten that they are shocked, to put it mildly.
23 Sharks Do Not Follow Directions
Hopefully, the photographer dropped a line into the water and didn't decide to swim into the ocean with a great white nearby. This great white got a little too close for comfort with respect to the camera. This close-up view of the shark's razor-sharp teeth gives us the feeling it has a diet consisting of more than just plants.
One survivor of a great white shark attack said, after nearly being eaten by a shark, that being in a shark is like a cave. Luckily, the victim survived the attack, which could have resulted in him losing his legs. It's another reason to avoid shark territory.
22 Ravenous Shark Takes The Bait
You need a large-sized bait to feed a great white shark. The great white shark is one of the oceans biggest and most dangerous creatures. The average size of a single great white shark tooth is 3 inches, yet they can be as long as 7 inches in length!
This ravenous great white shark is a focal point of shark week.
One of shark week's most spectacular shows that can't be missed is Isle of Jaws, a different type of program. Shark week has been a television event for decades and is now integrating VR (virtual reality). You will, of course, need a VR headset to see Isle of Jaws in virtual reality.
21 Boo! Did I Scare You?
Some people, even experts from shark week, get too comfortable around sharks. They forget that these creatures are predatory and can lunge out of the water at any moment. You wouldn't want to look in the water beside your boat and be surprised by this macabre sight.
Great white sharks can jump out of the water and onto ships.
They are one of the world's most intelligent hunters. Engaging in complex problem solving and hunting in packs are ways that sharks display intelligence. Last we checked an intelligent animal with 300 teeth could mean trouble.
20 The Bully Of The Ocean
Bruce from Finding Nemo is a great white shark, but judging by his robust size and features, he almost looks like a bull shark. Above we see an unnerving bull shark that is commonly found near Africa. There's a reason why they call it a bull shark.
A bull shark is bullish since they will attack if provoked.
They are sort of like the bully of the ocean. Ordinarily found in shallow waters, bull sharks can pose a threat to humans. Luckily, there haven't been that many accidents related to this type of shark. A bull shark regrows approximately 20,000 teeth during its lifetime.
19 The Most Dangerous Shark In The World
Some scientists believe that great white sharks are descendants of megalodon. Shark week of 2013 featured a controversial show, which claimed to have evidence of a megalodon's existence.
There was a short disclaimer that said the show was fictional, but many viewers were upset.
A fake documentary does not accurately represent Shark Week. It seemed like the show was intentionally trying to deceive viewers by misleadingly presenting information. After an uproar in the shark community, Discovery promised to make Shark Week more factual and less fictitious. Whether megalodon is extinct or alive in the Earth's deepest oceans remains a mystery.
18 This Shark Doesn't Want His Photo Taken
Judging by how the shark is exposing his teeth and swimming toward the cameraman, it seems like he doesn't want his photo taken. How this photographer was able to get so close to the great white shark and manage to survive is a mystery.
Bring expensive equipment to record great white sharks in action, but make sure you and your equipment are properly protected.
Using a steel cage is a common method for protection against sharks while in the water. Great white sharks eat whales because of how much meat they possess. It can take hours for them to fill up on a whale's meat.
17 Stay Out Of The Water
It could be time to avoid the water since the shark population is growing. ABC's hit television series Shark Tank had stars Kevin O'Leary, and Mark Cuban appear in shark week. It goes to show that the stars of Shark Tank also swim with sharks on occasion.
People use cages and other equipment when choosing to swim with a school of sharks; you'd have to be crazy not to.
Experts from shark week use the equipment they have and take unnecessary risks at times. Please, do NOT attempt to swim with great white sharks on any occasion or it could be your last.
16 Shortfin Mako Are One Of The Sea's Most Dangerous Creatures
It is the fastest shark in the ocean. Its speed combined with its aggressive behavior makes it extremely dangerous. The population of the shortfin mako is decreasing due to overfishing.
Catching a shortfin mako is a prize fish because of how difficult catching one is.
After hooking a shortfin mako, it moves uncontrollably and can injure fishermen. Often, after being caught, moving at a speed of about 20 miles per hour, the mako can long jump 30 feet out of the water. Because of its speed, the shortfin mako can be more dangerous than a great white shark.
15 From harmful to harmless: Sharks are sometimes difficult to tell apart
The angle of the photo makes it difficult to identify this shark species. When swimming in the ocean with scuba gear or spotting a dorsal fin raised above the water's surface, sharks are commonly misidentified as whales or dolphins.
Both whales and dolphins are similar in size and have nearly identical features.
Shark temperament and source of food are vastly different from whales and dolphins, making them more dangerous. It can be misidentified as a shortfin mako or a tiger shark, but this is a hammerhead shark. Sharks can be challenging to identify; it's another reason to avoid the water.
14 A Hammerhead Shark's Head Enhances Its Vision
The head of a hammerhead shark is not used to hammer nails—it's actually used to enhance its vision. With large eyes on both sides of the hammerhead shark, it has a wide range of view that allows them to effectively hunt prey.
Their prey could be a human if a person decides to swim with a hammerhead shark.
There aren't many predators who will eat hammerhead shark, so using their sight for survival is not that common. The hammerhead shark is listed as endangered, so we have to take steps to preserve this magnificent creature's population.
13 Hungry Tiger Sharks In The Bahamas
Tiger sharks often swim close to the seabed, near coral reefs and other fish. Since the ocean floor is dark much of the time, and near pitch-black in the night, tiger sharks make use of their nocturnal vision.
In an episode during Shark Week, Dr. Neil Hammerschlag and Joe Romeiro traveled to the Galapagos, one of the most populous shark locations in the world.
We've seen celebrity guests such as Shaquille O'Neal, Rob Gronkowski, and Mark Cuban on Shark Week, which contributes to the opinion that Shark Week is an incredible television event. Shark Week television series air on the Discovery Channel.
12 Stay Out Of The Water!
A great white shark is one of the various sharks you'll see during Shark Week. A great white shark commonly appears on shark week because of its strength and size. It is one of the sea's most vicious creatures, so naturally, people have a fascination with great whites.
Each of a great white shark's teeth is razor sharp.
Great white sharks almost exclusively eat marine life such as sea lions, sea turtles, rays and more. They don't have grinding teeth, which would be needed for eating plants. Stay out of areas of the ocean, or be on high alert since great white sharks are known to bite humans on occasion.
11 Fish Frenzy: Avoid The Great White Shark
This area of the ocean is ideal for a shark's habitat since it is thriving with marine wildlife. There are plenty of fish in the sea as long as we restrict overfishing. The spotting of half-eaten seals lying on the beach could indicate a shark is near.
Based on the bite types, one can conclude what kind of shark is nearby.
Even Shark Week explorers can run into trouble when recording sharks. The depth of the water leads to intense pressure. It's possible for a scuba diver to lose consciousness when swimming with sharks. Information we collect about great white sharks can prevent human error.
10 Shark Week Is On The Discovery Channel
Shark week usually airs during the summer on the Discovery Channel. It's the longest running television event in history. Low light in the sky means that it's darker in the water. Once in the powerful jaws of the great white, there is little that can be done to escape.
While fish are sleeping, the great white shark is hunting for prey.
They hunt in the morning, daytime, and night. Tracking around the clock is partly why great white sharks can survive and thrive. They are apex predators who have a nocturnal vision, a sense of smell reaching more than 3 miles, and about 300 razor sharp teeth.
9 This Is A Shark And Not A Giant Pillow
This is a shark and not a giant pillow or a sea snake. It's one of the most irregular looking sharks and its known as the "wobbegong". They are also called "carpet sharks" and "dasypogon." This irregular shark has a shaggy-like appearance.
During the day they sleep, and they hunt at night.
Some consider the wobbegong to be lazy. They make for good pets if you know how to handle them. Just feed them live fish twice a week and don't put your hand near the aquarium. They look harmless, but the wobbegong has a strong bite. When feeding a wobbegong live fish, use a long pole.
8 Air Jaws
It's one of the ocean's most dangerous creatures. The great white shark is a fierce predator capable of traveling speeds up to 15 miles per hour (21 km/h). While standing on a boat, you're almost never safe from a great white shark.
The amount of force a great white shark can exert on vessels is enough to tip them over.
Especially with plenty of water in the ocean, the amount of strength required to swim in the sea at a great white's speed is immense. The great white population is vulnerable due to overfishing in the oceans. You wouldn't want to swim with this big fish.
7 Sudsy Water Encompasses A Fierce Great White
A shark like this one uses its gills to extract oxygen from the water. Based on the amount of suds surrounding this fish, it's easy to conclude that it weighs at least a ton. Sitting still in the water won't allow a great white shark to breathe—it must be moving forward.
The great white shark is a product of its evolution, and it's not the perfect organism. It's estimated that great white sharks first appeared about 11 million years ago and the first sharks came into existence approximately 450 million years ago. As a creature with large eating requirements, it's amazing this shark species remains.
6 Live-Action Shark Attack
It's nearly impossible to defend yourself against a shark attack. One's best option would be to strike the shark in the eyes or nose and pray. Poking a shark in the eyes is a more favorable option compared to the latter.
Most likely, swimmers will be safe when swimming in the ocean with sharks because shark's primary food source is small fish and seals. This shark jumped out of the water when biting a seal for its meal. Near the shore, where there are surfers, sharks can attack seals. People can look like seals, so get back to the beach if you see a dorsal fin circling your area.