Diet of Sharks

Contrary to popular belief, sharks do not normally eat humans.  There are many shows and movies out there that portray sharks as these vicious, man-eating monsters.  However, this is not the truth in the real-life wild.  Sharks only attack humans if they feel threatened or get confused.  According to the Discovery Channel (2014), "The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) explains that sharks do not normally hunt humans, but if they do attack, it is usually a case of mistaken identity" (para. 4).  A shark's diet typically consists of sea lions, seals, and sometimes sea turtles.  When sharks go to attack their prey, they often come up from underneath it, and when looking underneath a swimmer or a seal, the two look very similar.


Photograph retrieved from the World Open Water Swimming Association (2012)

Other than the obvious visual of shape similarity, another reason that the sharks get confused is that they cannot see colors.  The World Open Water Swimming Association (2012) says, "According to researchers at the University of Western Australia and the University of Queensland, sharks are completely color blind and have only one type of photoreceptor in their retina" (para. 5).  Thus, they easily confuse the shape of a surfer for the shape of a seal, which they associate with food.  It is especially confusing when a surfer is wearing a dark wetsuit.  The shark just sees a dark shape that looks like its usual prey, so it will attack.  To reiterate, however, sharks only attack humans because of this confusion or if they feel threatened themselves.  They are not actually on the hunt for humans.

Next time you label sharks as these ruthless, threatening creatures, just remember that humans kill way more sharks than sharks do humans.  Who is the real bad guy?

The video link below shows a shark eating its natural prey of seals in the wild.  This video belongs to Henrythaeif from YouTube and was posted on January 8, 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8IUFu1KXrM

References

Discovery Channel. (2014). Why Do Sharks Attack? Retrieved from http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/shark-week/about-this-show/why-do-sharks-attack.htm

Henrythaeif. (2012, January 8). Great white shark grabs seal - amazing HD Quality footage - Must See. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8IUFu1KXrM

World Open Water Swimming Association. (2012, July 14). [Photograph]. Retrieved from http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/2012/07/myths-in-open-water-wetsuits-lead-to.html

World Open Water Swimming Association. (2012, July 14). The Daily News of Open Water Swimming: Myths In The Open Water: Wetsuits Lead to Shark Attacks. Retrieved from http://dailynews.openwaterswimming.com/2012/07/myths-in-open-water-wetsuits-lead-to.html