Shark image as a people devourer is myth, says science

What are the animals most dangerous in the world? You would probably include the shark In this list. But know that this image is just a myth created by Hollywood movies, especially the iconic Sharkby Steven Spielberg, released in 1975.

The feature was so successful that even scientists began to study these dreaded animals better. With a greater knowledge about them, however, it was possible to ward off this (unfair) reputation as a devourer of people.

These animals do not hunt humans

• One of the work on the subject is by Gareth J. Fraser, professor at the University of Florida, in the United States.
• In article published in The Conversationit focused on one of the most terrifying aspects of these predators, the jaws and the teeth.
• According to the scientist, sharks are able to replace their teeth for a lifetime.
• In this way, the animals keep their bite constantly sharp.
• This news is terrible for the prey, but humans are not among them.

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Sharks need to be preserved and not feared

Gareth J. Fraser also states that sharks have an incredible evolutionary success story. But the truth is that these animals are also vulnerable in the modern era. Late sexual maturity – 15 to 20 years or 150 years in Greenland sharks – along with slow growth, long periods of gestation, and complex social structures make fragile sharks populations less able to recover.

See the white shark (Carcharodon Carcharias), for example, the species of the movie. Trophy hunting, the trade of parts of their bodies and the impacts of commercial fishing caused their population to decrease. As a result, they received basic protections at the international level. With this, the numbers have improved, especially in the United States, leading to a change in the status critically threatened to vulnerable. However, they remain critically threatened with extinction in Europe and the Mediterranean.

Gareth J. Fraser, Professor at the University of Florida

The scientist also explains that shark attacks have always been rare. The sharks in cloudy waters can even give a test bite to what appears to be a prey, occasionally hurting humans. But it is important that it is clear that we are not part of the diet of these animals.

There are over 500 species of sharks in the oceans of the world, each of them an exclusive member of a specific ecosystem with a vital role. Sharks have all shapes and sizes and inhabit all oceans, both shallow and deep ecosystems. Most interactions recorded between humans and sharks are inspiring rather than terrifying. Sharks really don’t care about people – at most they can be curious, but they don’t have hunger for human flesh. Whether or not “shark” fans have overcome fear of cinema monsters, we will need greater conservation effort to continue to protect these important guardians from the ocean.

Gareth J. Fraser, Professor at the University of Florida