The Little-Known and Hard-To-Swallow Facts About Sharks
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
060_09Kids_Sharks 4/29/09 11:50 AM Page 60 60 ļ ļ ļ L and ļ ittle-known ļ ļ ļ ļ n 1881, a shark was captured and ļ killed in the waters off New York City. ļ When its stomach was cut open, ļ a buffet of items was found, ļ including an old shoe; a partly digested, ļ young, shovel-nose shark; several small ļ fish, including sunfish and porgies; and a ļ ginger ale bottle, corked but empty. ļ In 1935, a tiger shark in an aquarium ļ near Coogee Beach, Australia, vomited up ļ a human arm with a tattoo of two boxers ļ wearing red shorts. The arm was identified ļ as belonging to Australian gangster James ļ Smith, who had disappeared several ļ weeks earlier. ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ C ļ O ļ N T I N U ļ E ļ D ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ A lemon shark lemon A j ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ o w n ļ a n d h a r d - t o - s ļ w a l l o w f a c t s S a ļ b o K u t R S H NATURE A 61 060_09Kids_Sharks 4/28/09 1:02 PM Page 61 Page PM 1:02 4/28/09 060_09Kids_Sharks 060_09Kids_Sharks 4/29/09 11:53 AM Page 62 62 Detectives discovered that one of James’s ļ partners in crime had cut his body into pieces and ļ thrown them into the ocean. It is believed that a ļ baby shark ate James’s arm, but before it was able ļ to digest it, the young shark was eaten by a tiger ļ shark, which was captured soon after and brought to the aquarium. ļ ļ A tiger shark ļ j ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ The “Shark Papers” that were found inside ļ the stomach of a shark These items have been found in ļ the stomachs of sharks: ļ • a man’s wallet • a blue penguin ļ • 25 bottles of water • a handbag ļ (1 quart each) containing bound together 3 shillings ļ with a wire hoop • a belt ļ • a nearly whole a wristwatch ļ reindeer • • a full-grown spaniel ļ • 6 horseshoe crabs • a yellow-billed ļ • 3 bottles of beer cuckoo ļ Tiger sharks may be the most gluttonous ļ of all sharks. They have been known to try ļ to digest beer bottles, bags of potatoes, coal, dogs, overcoats, a driver’s license, a ļ The jawbone of a tiger cow’s hoof, the antlers of a deer, and a ļ shark. This shark eats chicken coop with feathers and bones almost anything and is ļ the most dangerous of still inside. Fortunately for them, tiger ļ all species of fish. sharks have a kind of safety valve if they eat too much junk food. They throw up. ļ ļ ļ ļ 060_09Kids_Sharks 4/28/09 1:03 PM Page 63 63 NATURE FISH CATCHES MAN n August 1799, an American ship named Nancy was sailing in the Caribbean Sea, captained by Thomas Briggs. All was well until the captain of the H.M.S. Sparrow, a British ship, seized the Nancy because he believed that Thomas was smuggling goods between Aruba, an island near Venezuela, and the United States. Thomas claimed that he was innocent, but he was arrested and a trial was scheduled in Kingston, Jamaica. Because the lawyers had little evidence to prove that he had been smuggling, Thomas was confident that he would be freed of all charges. During the trial, a British merchant ship arrived in Jamaica. Its captain claimed to have proof that Thomas was guilty. While at sea, the British crew had caught a shark; inside its stomach, they had found papers with details about smuggling that Thomas had written! No longer able to lie, Thomas confessed that before he was captured, he had thrown the papers overboard. He was angry that he had been caught by a “bloody shark fish.” The documents became known as the “Shark Papers” and are on exhibit at the Institute of Jamaica. For a while, the shark’s jaw was on display near the courthouse at the corner of Harbour and Hanover streets in Kingston as a reminder that honesty is the best policy. The jaw is now also at the Institute of Jamaica. O N T I N C U E D 060_09Kids_Sharks 4/29/09 12:01 PM Page 64 64 What is a shark’s favorite kind of sandwich? A: Peanut butter j and jellyfish! A great white shark j Remora fish hitch a ride on the dorsal fin of a lemon shark. j See what some kids (and teachers!) are doing to save sharks at www.sharks.org/education_kids.htm. ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ released as the shark feeds. It is unclear why sharks don’t eat pilot fish. pilot eat don’t sharks why unclear is It feeds. shark the as released ļ Pilot fish swim ahead of and alongside a shark and feast on scraps on feast and shark a alongside and of ahead swim fish Pilot ļ back and reattaches itself to the shark. the to itself reattaches and back ļ on scraps of food that the shark has left floating around. It then swims then It around. floating left has shark the that food of scraps on ļ teeth. Occasionally, a remora will leave the shark for a while to feast feast to while a for shark the leave will remora a Occasionally, teeth. (never in its stomach) and remove bits of food between the shark’s the between food of bits remove and stomach) its in (never ļ skin. Sometimes, remoras will cling to the inside of a shark’s mouth shark’s a of inside the to cling will remoras Sometimes, skin. ļ eating parasites, lice, small crabs, and other critters that live on its on live that critters other and crabs, small lice, parasites, eating ļ Remoras attach themselves to a shark and help to keep it clean by clean it keep to help and shark a to themselves attach Remoras ļ for the smaller fish. smaller the for ļ R hanging out with sharks, which serve as 24/7 “bodyguards” 24/7 as serve which sharks, with out hanging ļ emoras (shown at left) and pilot fish are often found found often are fish pilot and left) at (shown emoras ļ ļ D a D e a y r e y r e e e r t e r o t a o C a C h h ļ T T ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ ļ • Shark teeth are used in jewelry and ceremonial objects. ceremonial and jewelry in used are teeth Shark ļ ļ • Shark body parts are used as ingredients in some tanning oils and glues. and oils tanning some in ingredients as used are parts body Shark ļ a protective coating on wooden boats, and as street-lamp fuel. street-lamp as and boats, wooden on coating protective a ļ as a salve to help wounds heal, as a source of Vitamin A, as as A, Vitamin of source a as heal, wounds help to salve a as • Shark liver oil was once used as an ingredient in cosmetics, cosmetics, in ingredient an as used once was oil liver Shark ļ ļ • Shark skin was once a popular alternative to leather. to alternative popular a once was skin Shark ļ still used to make soup and shark meat continues to be eaten. be to continues meat shark and soup make to used still ļ products is diminishing in much of the world, shark fin is is fin shark world, the of much in diminishing is products • Although the use of shark body parts as food and in in and food as parts body shark of use the Although ļ ļ NATURE MARKS SHARK 65 060_09Kids_Sharks 4/28/09 1:05 PM Page 65 Page PM 1:05 4/28/09 060_09Kids_Sharks.