Random Fascinating Facts Most People Don't Know About Shark Feeding Frenzies (12 items)

• 

  (#1) When In A Frenzy, The Sharks Will Appear To Lose Their Minds

  To the average observer, a feeding frenzy is a terrifying thing. Unlike with normal feeding habits, sharks do this in a group, with sudden and violent thrashing, and the presence of the other sharks only seem to make it more intense. Stealth is thrown to the wind, as is the usual slow circling form of hunting, making it seem like the sharks have just gone insane.

  As people have described it, the sharks look frantic, quickly moving from one part of the source of food to the other. Sharks will appear to converge, all at once, on a single point, twisting and biting, then jerk away before attacking again in the same fashion. This is done again and again until the food source is depleted. They will chase down movement, and anything that gets in the way may be bitten, including other sharks. 
• 

  (#6) Normally, Sharks Use Stealth And Strategy Rather Than Brute Force

  When you think of a shark attack, you may think of scenes from Jaws, where the shark leaps out of the water or swims through the water with its fin in the air. Again, this is mostly a myth.

  When sharks hunt, which they usually do while solitary, they do their best to stay under their prey's radar. When toothed sharks go on the offensive, they do their best to silently and calmly come at their victims from below. Their dark color makes them blend in with the ocean and ocean floor beneath them, so their prey won't spot them. Then, they circle the prey, gaining in speed and violence of movements. Then, once they are close enough to be spotted, it's too late and they attack in a quick, darting motion.

  The very force of their body's impact is sometimes enough to stun or kill a fish, even if their teeth don't do the job.
• 

  (#9) Most Sharks Prefer Fish And Squids To Big Game

  Let's get this out of the way early: sharks don't specifically want to eat you. It's true that sharks can and will attack humans, but this is because they are equal-opportunity predators, and some species, such as tiger sharks, are willing to chomp on just about anything. However, sharks don't specifically target humans, gain a taste for human flesh, or actually even want to eat animals like us. We're more trouble than we're worth, and we're not their natural prey.

  In reality, sharks as a species prefer to eat fish, squids, and crustaceans. Even large sharks associated with huge attacks, like Great Whites, still eat fish and carrion, along with seals, whales, and turtles. This means that when a feeding frenzy does happen, human isn't exactly on the menu...unless you choose to get in the way of one.
• 

  (#12) Everything Can Return To Normal Almost Instantly

  Startlingly enough, shark feeding frenzies tend to be pretty short lived. They begin once there is blood and prey in the water, and they continue until prey is depleted. Once it is gone, however, the sharks pretty much stop acting crazy. Without the excitement of panic and distress in the water, without blood flowing, and without an abundance of prey to compete for, the sharks have no reason to act aggressively. So they simply stop. Just as suddenly as the sharks may have seemed to get nuts, they will go back to normal behavior.

  This behavior is not crazed, mindless, violent, or vengeful, as media often depicts. In fact, feeding frenzies are the only times sharks may appear to act this way, and even then, as you have just read, malice has little to do with shark behavior. 
• 

  (#2) Many Sharks Die During Feeding Frenzies

  Unfortunately for the sharks, this feeding frenzy where they seem to throw caution to the wind can lead to serious issues for the group of sharks. While some species that go into frenzies appear to keep some sense of calm, even including a pecking order, that is not usually the case. Instead, the sharks swarm and converge all at once, and anything between them and the food is in potential danger. That includes other sharks. Sharks involved in a feeding frenzy have been known to disembowel each other, and even eat each other in their excitement over new blood spilled. If not, they can still be injured by brief bites or impacts of their fellow frenziers.

  If this kind of behavior is so potentially dangerous to sharks, then thy does it happen? Scientists aren't entirely certain on this, but there are several possible factors. 
• 

  (#8) Frenzies Are More Likely To Happen In Areas That Have A Ton Of Prey

  One huge part of feeding frenzies has to do with an over-abundance of prey. Frenzies tend to happen in shallow water, where there are lots of fish and carrion, and it tends to happen when a group of sharks all focus on the same prey. When there's an inverted pyramid of prey-to-predator ratio, as in there are far more prey animals than predators, it becomes overwhelming. All it takes is a group of sharks to start eating, and as long as there is prey, they will keep eating. When blood is in the water, and there's plenty to eat, it's enough to simply drive sharks wild.

  Frenzies can also happen around fishing vessels when the nets are bringing in large amounts of fish, and can occur when vessels put chum in the water to attract sharks for tourists. 

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking