Sharks… Even if you think you know all there is to know about sharks so far, you probably haven’t heard these interesting shark facts before. Here are some of the best interesting shark facts for kids, including simple shark facts, school shark facts and Great White shark facts for kids.
Simple Shark Facts
On the lookout for some simple shark facts? Sharks are fascinating creatures, and not as scary as most people think. Make your way through the wonderful world of sharks with these great simple shark facts from all over the internet.
There are more than 400 different types of shark in the world, including the Great White shark, the Blue shark and the Mako. Every ocean in the world shares its space with some of these shark species.
Sharks aren’t aggressive at all, but movies and television have given them a mistaken reputation as one of nature’s biggest killers. For every human attacked by a shark, one million sharks are killed by humans.
Unfortunately, shark fin soup is one of the biggest dangers to the modern shark population. It’s exactly what it sounds like, and often sharks are killed only for the use of their fins to make this very expensive, dodgy delicacy.
Before we had the name shark, sailors used to refer to these beautiful creatures as sea dogs instead.
Baby sharks are called pups.
When a shark eats something that it can’t process, some sharks have the ability to eject their stomachs from their mouths so they can bring back up what they just tried to eat.
Sharks don’t communicate by making noise, but use their body language to get a message across to other sharks around them.
When sharks poke their fins through the water, scientists think that this is a way for sharks to sense tiny vibrations in the water’s surface that can help them to move around better.
Whale sharks are one of the largest shark species. The whale shark can grow up to 45 to 50 feet as a fully grown adult.
School Shark Facts
Need some cool shark facts for school? Amaze your friends and battle your teachers with these great school shark facts that you can bet that almost nobody would know until you tell them about it!
Sharks are a specific type of fish. The different species of shark are all called elasmobranchs.
Sharks occur all over the world, and there are different types of sharks through all the world’s oceans. Sometimes, sharks can even be found passing through rivers that are connected to the ocean – especially when there are floods.
A shark’s liver is the largest organ in their body. According to estimates, a shark’s liver can take up about a quarter of their total body weight.
Sharks can sense the presence of blood in the water. If you have a fresh cut and you’re in shark territory, you are advised to get out of the water immediately so that you don’t attract the presence of nearby sharks who will see what that smell might be.
The majority of sharks can dislocate their jaws and push them forward so that it allows them to take a larger, more forceful bite of their prey.
The average shark doesn’t need to be completely covered in water to move around. A shark needs only about 2 to 3 feet deep water for them to swim and move around.
Great White Shark Facts for Kids
What about the Great White? Let’s not forget about one of the most famous shark species of all time. Here’s what you should know about the much less terrifying Great White shark:
The Great White Shark is one of very few shark species that have been known to be involved in the attacks of humans. Only about 30 out of 400 total shark species have ever been known to attack humans, usually by mistaking them for food.
The majority of dangerous Great White Shark attacks happen in shallow water that is less than six feet deep.
The most sensitive part of a Great White Shark’s body is the tip of the nose. People have successfully escaped from attempted shark attacks by punching the attacking shark right on the nose, giving them a chance to get away.
Jaws is one of the most famous movies about a shark, but also helped to give real-life sharks a very bad reputation. Even Great White Sharks are not as prone to attack as the movie would suggest, and most shark attacks happen by accident.
Every year, more people are killed by bee attacks than by sharks. Great White sharks mostly attack by accident, though swarming bees can attack when they are angry or disturbed.
The teeth of the Great White Shark have been used as arrowheads by native American tribes.
Fun Facts About Sharks for Kids
Need just a few more shark facts to get you through the week? Here are some more fun facts about sharks for kids.
Sharks are one of the very few types of fish out there that doesn’t have any bones.
In the wild, some sharks have been known to attack pieces of metal when they see it. Scientists suspect they do this because of the fact that metal conducts electricity, which is something sharks have developed a sense for in order to hunt.
Sharks never just attack their prey, but there is almost always a warning sign before they do. If you watch footage of sharks attacking, you will notice that – a few seconds before – they prepare their bodies, ready their fins and then proceed to attack.
Sharks would die if they had to remain in one place. In order to breathe, sharks have to keep swimming to force oxygen-rich water through their skills – and if they were to stand still for too long, they would suffocate in the water.
Even though sharks will snack on many things they find in the ocean, sharks cannot eat pufferfish and will avoid them as a food source.
