The Basking Shark

  At long last I have come to what is arguably Britain's most famous shark. These filter feeding giants are found throughout the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, in addition to much of the Pacific. They feed on plankton and small fish whilst they drift through the seas, open mouthed. They are yet another classic example of a gentle giant: the second biggest fish in the Ocean and yet all they eat are the smallest particles of matter.
  Basking sharks, and other filter feeders, feed by pushing water over their gills and straining plankton from it. They get the water by swimming, which is why filter feeders can not stop moving through water.
  Despite their enthralling size, it is not uncommon for people in New Zealand and California to see basking sharks being hunted by killer whales. Great whites and oceanic whitetips are also known to scavenge a meal from these entrancing sharks' carcasses, but never prey on living specimens due to their reputation for stunning attackers with their heavy tails if defence is required.
  Humans hunt basking sharks for their fins, their liver (for medicinal purposes) and their fat, which is used to make animal feed.

A basking shark filter feeding.

The range of a basking shark.

Dangers to Sharks Part I

  Over the next few months, I will be publishing new posts on dangers to sharks. Each post will be about a different shark.

So what creatures pose a threat to sharks in the watery world they seem to lord over? The answer is that several do. Of course, all this varies depending on which type of shark you are talking about.

  Let’s start with the more imposing of the sharks: the great white. Many see this as king of the sea, mighty lord of all marine life. They are mistaken. Throughout its life, a great white shark will have a minimum of two threats to it. The one permanent threat is human beings. The reasons why- although none are good reasons for it, there cannot be a good one- I have mentioned countless times elsewhere on the blog. As a pup, the threat to great whites comes from octopi. These creatures will wrap a long, suckered tentacle around the shark’s body and reel it in, either for food or protection. Another danger comes from their brothers in arms, for if several great white pups were to be attracted to one, small sized piece of food, there is a chance that they would do damage to each other in order to eat it. 

  As adolescents, these sharks tend to travel between warm coastal waters around the world. These include the Great Barrier Reef, South Africa - for the yearly sardine run - Northern Africa and Southern Europe in the Mediterranean Sea and finally, in some of America's most popular beaches like Florida and Hawaii. Travelling between these places, however, leaves them open to a new danger: adult bull sharks. These sharks do not so much attack to find a meal - there are many easier pickings in these areas like dolphins, turtles, squid and large fish - but to rid themselves of a competitor for food and territory. 

  Finally, as adults, these sharks face a peril more terrible than those it has faced before: killer whales. Although, as their misleading name suggests, many people believe these are the smallest type of whale, they have been, in truth, recently reclassified as dolphins. They often travel in large packs and even when they are alone they do not hesitate to attack a great white. These amazing creatures from the deep always use the same tactics: the killer whale launches towards the great white's side, clamping its massive jaws around the middle of the shark. It then tosses the badly bleeding creature into the air. Sometimes, if the shark is badly hurt enough for there to be no risk of an attack in mid-air, the killer whale will leap after it and grab it again just to show off. If the shark continues to thrash about, then the killer whale will grab it in the middle with its jaws (again) and clamp down as tight as possible. It will race through the water like this, shaking its head while the shark fops like a rag-doll, until its nemesis is dead.
  
  So there you have it, despite its fearsome reputation as king of the seas, the great white shark will always have another creature capable of killing it.

A great white shark feeding on a large school of fish.