A look at The Temperaments of Different Shark Species
The misconceptions and old ideas that lead people to believe sharks are aggressive were due to the misunderstanding of how sharks interact. Sharks are extremely tactile, and often display a behavior called “mouthing” which is how they explore and learn about the world around them. This specific behavior can be seen in many different animal species, on land and in water, such as with puppies who chew and bite to inspect anything new in their environment. Below we will address a few misconceptions about shark temperaments.
Great Whites are highly inquisitive in temperament compared to other shark species, making them likely to use this kind of technique when figuring out something new to their area. This new information has allowed scientists to realize that great whites although solitary in their migrations are not inherently antisocial as it was believed. Great whites bite and mark, not only other animals they come across but also sharks of their own species, often recognizing others they have previously met along their migratory patterns.
Bronze Whaler sharks are similar to Great whites in their curiosity but display this very differently due to bronze whalers being a pack species. They engage with their surroundings as a group, leaving them to be more docile in their interactions than that of great whites, and only tend to become aggressive when their food sources are threatened. This leads to the few attacks being because of people fishing their prey.
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Seven gill Cow sharks have a similar docile nature as the Bronze whaler sharks, however, this is because they are not driven by appetite, and are often found cruising while it digests its meal. They are fairly antisocial as a species, rarely hunting in packs and because they are apex predators who need little sustenance, they only really become aggressive when provoked enough.
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Mako sharks have a similar intelligence to that of the great white shark but while being studied have come to be known as much more intimidating. This is due to the species being quick to act, something that helps when catching its prey, but does make it dangerous to interact with. Their ability to critically reason is what sets this species apart from the others and allows them to be so speedy when provoked or around any food.
Blue sharks are one of the more social shark species, often communicating through body language, and forming wolve-like packs during their migration. These sharks, because of their social nature, are often seen to observe others(humans and animals) and with their ability to track frequencies in the water, they tend to investigate new things that come into their environment. Unlike the other shark species above, Blue sharks are very rarely aggressive, even when provoked. And with their amazing swimming skills, tend to sprint away than attack something that isn’t prey.
From Great White to Blue Sharks, each species has its own similar characteristics within each type of shark and recently, with new research done, scientists believe they each have their own individual personalities as well. This amazing new information and revelation helps people understand these beautiful creatures even more which helps to protect them and our lovely ocean’s ecosystem.
