Why Sharks are Awesome...

This blog topic was born where many, if not all, blog topics are born...my sixth period Health class. It all started one day in...February, I think...and I happened to be watching the Discovery Channel. A preview for that show called Nature came on and showed a Great White Shark jumping out of the water. I always love seeing sharks do that. I love sharks. They are the most innocent creatures in the world, did you know that? More about that later. But the next day I was telling my friend Shenihqua about it and my other friend Noah said something along the lines of, "I hate sharks. They're evil." Now that just got me and Shenihqua started. Sharks are not evil. They are far from it. But Noah was adamant...sharks are evil. They kill people, apparently. And I know that practically everyone thinks that because they don't take time to look at things like this logically. They jump straight to the easiest conclusion. Sharks eat people. Okay...no they do not!

Let me just give you some background info about sharks. The largest shark in the world also happens to be the least dangerous. The Whale Shark, measuring in at around 59 feet long, is the most gentle shark modern-day scientists know of. They eat krill, plankton and floating vegetation. They even let humans swim alongside them in the ocean. Now, in my mind the most dangerous shark could be one of two creatures. The Tiger Shark is named from the tell-tale tiger strip markings on its back. It leaves humans alone until it gets pissed off. Which I have proof isn't easily done (sometimes). When my dad was in basic training for the army, he was stationed in Hawaii. They were swimming one day and my dad got bumped by something in the water. When he looked to see what it was, he discovered it was a Tiger Shark. The shark did nothing...it just swam away. But, when angered, this shark can get majorly aggressive. But, that's its main line of protection in the water. The other shark would be the Great White Shark, made famous by the classic movie, Jaws. These sharks are elusive, fast and highly intelligent. But, I would have to say that these sharks are the most dangerous because they are known to bite anything that moves. It's how they check to see what something is. They have to make up for their poor eyesight by "feeling." Yes, this shark is dangerous. No, this shark is not evil. It's not like it floats around in the caves underwater with a list of specific people it will attack.

Other sharks that swim in "our" waters would be the Hammerhead, the Nurse, Lemon, Megamouth, and the Thrasher sharks. All these sharks look, act and behave differently. Most people think that sharks are bad because when shark attacks do happen, they are bad. But did you know that more people get killed by bees each year than dying from shark attacks? More people die from lightning than shark attacks. And car crashes kill people more often than sharks do. As I said before...sharks are the most innocent creatures in the world. All they do is swim, eat and make little sharks. We must remember that we were the ones that invaded their waters and their habitats. They were here first. But we always blame them.

Sharks have very poor eyesight. Adding that with the fact that their eyes are on the sides of their heads, they can't tell the difference between a seal swimming above them and a person on a surfboard. Most shark attack victims were on surfboards when the sharks attacked them. Now, if you want to talk evil sea creatures...well, let's just say that Shamu isn't as nice and pretty as everyone thinks. Do you know how they kill seals to eat them? They literally play with their food. They flip a seal back and forth for a long time, catching it over and over again, until it dies. And what does a shark do? Practically nothing...

Noah gets mad when I talk abut this so I have stopped talking about it to her. Whatever you do...don't ask Noah to go to a picnic after saying sharks are awesome...she won't like that...