12 Jaw-Some & Interesting Facts About Bull Shark
Bull Shark would be an interesting topic for shark lovers who love to read stuff about them. Bull Sharks can survive in both salty as well as freshwater. They are also found in coastal areas. Bull Sharks live worldwide because they are able to live in any water condition.
They are excellent swimmers, and while swimming, they can reach up to a speed of 25 miles per hour. In addition, they have great force beneath their jaws, with the help of which they can crush anything coming in their way—excited to know more about Bull Sharks? Then continue reading because this article would describe various interesting Bull Shark facts.
Also Read: Fun Shark Facts For Kids
Basic Bull Shark Facts
Name
They are called Bull Sharks as before killing their prey, they bite into their head. In Africa, Bull Shark’s common name is “Zambezi Shark.”
Scientific Classification
Carcharhinus leucas is the scientific name of Bull Sharks. They belong to the class of phylum Chordata, kingdom Animalia.
Latin Name
There is no particular Latin name present for bull sharks. But yes, they do have a scientific name and many common names.
Appearance
Bull Sharks have a high ratio of width to length. They are of medium size. The top of their body is dark-colored, whereas the bottom belly part is light.
Full Grown Size And Weight
When they are fully grown, their weight is around 100-230 kg. Male adult length is 7 feet, whereas female Bull Shark attains a length of 11 feet.
Habitat And Range
They are found in both salt and freshwater. They can swim several miles nonstop, and are found everywhere.
Diet
Bulls sharks are aggressive carnivores. They eat marine animals, including fish, turtles, mammals, and other sharks.
Life Expectancy
It can get old up to 16 years of age. One Bull Shark was found to be 30 years old.
12 Interesting And Fun Bull Shark Facts
1. How Many Bull Sharks Are There In The World
As they are present in every kind of water, it’s not easy to keep track of their number. But if we try to guess the count, there can be almost over a billion of them present around the whole world.
2. How to Do Bull Sharks Reproduce
When we talk about male Bull Sharks, they gain their sexual maturity at 14-15 years of their age. At the same time, the female Bull Sharks achieve sexual maturity at 18-19 years of age. Since they are mammals,, females give birth to live pups. The gestation period for female Bull Sharks is almost 11 months.
3. Cuteness Level Of Bull Sharks
Bull Sharks are aggressive, but they are medium-sized. Hence they don’t look too dangerous. On the other hand, they are not so cute, but they have fluffy, chubby bodies, making them look cute.
4. How They Communicate
Bull Sharks and their other species use their bodies to communicate; they especially arch their bodies. In addition, their special organ, named the lateral line, helps them pick up subtle vibrations underwater. Bull Sharks and other sharks use these organs to navigate deep underwater. They can also use their incredible sense to locate their prey.
5. How Fast Can A Bull Shark Swim
These sharks are similar to other sharks in swimming; they swim incredibly fast at 25-30 miles per hour. This makes them powerful and very fast predators. they are very dangerous and kill their prey by biting into their heads.
6. Weight Of A Bull Shark
When a Bull Shark takes birth, it weighs almost 3 kg. When these sharks are a little grown up and immature, they weigh around 50 kg. However, when it comes to adult Bull Sharks, they weigh very differently. Females weigh around 110 kg, whereas males weigh around 96-97 kg.
7. Diet Of A Bull Shark
As it is a shark, its diet is also not normal. It can eat other sharks as well as other kinds of fish. It can also eat sea turtles along with their hard shells. This is because they have special sharp teeth to manage the hard shells of turtles or any other organisms they eat.
Bull Sharks also manage to eat and digest bony fish. These sharks look for their prey under the murky water, providing them with good camouflage to hide and surprise their prey with an incredibly fast attack.
8. Bull Sharks Are One Of The Extremely Dangerous Animals
Should humans feel fear from them? The answer is yes; they can also attack humans as they are aggressive in nature. The chances of a Bull Shark attacking a human being are very high because these sharks can migrate up river and come near human-populated areas.
9. They Have More Than 10 Common Names
According to reports, Bull Sharks are known with more than fifteen names worldwide. They are called Nicaragua Sharks in North America, whereas Swan River Whaler is another common name of Bull Sharks in Australia. In addition, Ground Shark, Cub Shark, River Shark, and Shovelnose Shark are common names.
10. Powerful Jaw
These Bull Sharks have very strong and unique jaws. Their jaw muscles are so strong that they can generate a biting force of 1309 pounds per square inch (psi) which is very high. They can bite humans also. They are very aggressive because they have a very high testosterone level compared to other sharks.
11. They Give Birth To Young Pups
Unlike fishes that lay eggs, Bull Sharks give birth to young baby sharks. However, they can give birth to 1-13 pups at a time. Their mating season is late summer.
These sharks are clever; therefore, they give birth in rivers to protect their young ones. Hence, a young one can grow before entering the sea, where it has no risk of becoming the meal of another shark as a baby.
12. Are They Dangerous To Us Or We Are Dangerous To Them
These sharks are aggressive, but they do not attack humans. Therefore, there is extremely less possibility that a Bull Shark will attack a human being. It has been investigated that Bull Sharks normally kill just ten humans per year. But humans kill almost a hundred million of them because of fishing, accidental bycatch, and finning.
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Conclusion
These are aggressive animals, but it would be better if we don’t interfere in their wildlife, stay away from them and let them live their life. We should avoid using gill nets while fishing and get along with the organizations and foundations working for the welfare of sharks and spreading awareness about these animals. We hope the above article helped you learn various interesting and fun Bull Shark facts.