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Sharks in South Africa
Tiger Sharks Tiger Sharks grow up to about 6-meters, the average size is about 3-meters. They eat fish, turtles, crabs, mammals, sea birds, other sharks, and just about anything else. Their teeth are serrated, razor-sharp, and curved and are the same in upper and lower jaws. They have a special gill slit [a spiracle] behind the eyes that provides oxygen flow directly to the eyes and brain. They have very good sense of smell & eyesight. Their depth range is from the surface to about 300-meters, they swim at about 3.5-kph. Gestation takes about 9 months and they are born live in litters of between 10 & 82 pups. At birth they are 51cm to 76cm have spotted markings that grow together to form stripes which fade with maturity. The life span of the tiger shark is unknown. Bull [Zambezi] Sharks The Bull Shark is known locally as a Zambezi Shark, the shark has a short shovel shape snout. The belly is off-white, its top surface is gray, and the eyes are small. The first dorsal fin is much longer and more pointed than the second dorsal fin. The teeth of a Bull [Zambezi] Sharks are triangular, serrated, and very sharp. Adult Male Bull [Zambezi] Sharks average about 2.1-meters & weigh about 90kg Adult Females Bull [Zambezi] Sharks average about 3.5-meters & weigh about 230kg. Their diet consists of sharks, fish, rays, turtles, birds, crustaceans & dolphins. It will eat almost anything. Gestation takes about 12 months and they generally give birth to 1 to 13 pups about 70cm long. A pup's fins have black tips, but these marking fade in the adults. Very young bull sharks are frequently found in protected bays near the mouths of rivers. Bull [Zambezi] Shark is found close to shore and can live for a while in fresh water, frequenting estuaries, rivers and lakes. The life span of the Bull [Zambezi] Shark is unknown. Ragged Tooth Sharks Ragged Tooth Sharks [known locally as Raggies] can grow up to about 3.5-meters, the average size is about 2-meters. Their diet consists mainly of large and small bony fish, small sharks, rays, squid and crustaceans. Their teeth are large and arranged in three rows on each side of the upper jaw midline. The teeth themselves have long smooth, narrow-edged cusps with one or two small lateral denticles. They have a stout body with two large dorsal fins that are almost equal in size and the first dorsal fin is far back on the body. The tail has an elongated upper lobe and no caudal keel. This shark appears bronze with a pale belly. Juveniles have spots on the tail and rear end of the body that fade with age. The gill slits are anterior to the origin of the pectoral fins. The sharks congregate on the Aliwal Shoal & Protea Banks from June and November. The sharks spend most of the year in the colder waters off the Eastern Cape before moving up to the KZN Coast as part of their annual migration, where they mate from June and November. After the mating, the males return south to the Eastern Cape and the pregnant females then move north and can often be seen on the reefs of Sodwana Bay between October and March. Gestation takes about 9 to 12 months and they generally give birth to 2 pups about 100cm long. They have spotted markings that grow together to form stripes which fade with maturity. This shark is able to achieve neutral buoyancy gulping air at the surface and storing it in its stomach. While menacing in appearance, this shark is generally considered to be harmless. Great White Sharks Great White Sharks grow up to about 6-meters, the average size is about 3.5 to 5 meters. Females are larger than males. The sharks are streamlined swimmers and the oceans apex predator. They have a torpedo-shaped body, a pointed snout, a crescent-shaped tail, 5 gill slits, no fin spines, an anal fin, and 3 main fins, the dorsal fin and 2 pectoral fins. When the shark is near the surface, the dorsal fin and part of the tail are visible above the water. They are supreme hunters, and are dominant in their ecosystem. Their diet is made up of large fish like tuna, and other types of shark and rays. Part of the diet is made up of mammals. The shark has 3,000 teeth which are triangular, serrated, razor-sharp, and up to 7.5 cm long. When hunting white sharks use mainly vision and smell. Both of these senses are well developed in white sharks. They also have a good and fast sense of taste. The white shark’s sense of touch and hearing are also good, but not extra-ordinary. Great Whites use special sensory pits around their snout and head [ampullae of Lorenzini] to detect electro-magnetic pulses. Every living thing produces these faint pulses, and sharks can use that to hunt. Along with all other fish, white sharks also possess a lateral line. This chain of sensory pits runs the length of the animal’s body, and is good for detecting water vibrations. Using the lateral line, a shark can tell from a distance whether an animal is injured or disorientated, and even how large it is. They are born live in litters of between 2 & 14 pups. At birth they are about 150cm, they swim away from the mother immediately after birth, there is no maternal care-giving. The life span of the Great White Shark is unknown. |
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