What Do Sharks Eat
“What do sharks eat?” is a question with no single, specific answer. Different types of sharks eat different types of food. Sharks are a prime example of survival of the fittest, but while some sharks target other sharks or whales, most live on small fish, squid and crustaceans. In fact, sharks are more likely to attack sick or juvenile fish which helps maintain a healthy ocean environment.
While some sharks, like the whale shark, live mostly on plankton, all sharks are carnivorous to some extent, however minor. For the whale shark, this includes the crustaceans present in the plankton. Still, whale sharks and many other types do not hunt or pursue predators. Whale sharks and basking sharks have unique gills with denticles which separate food from water. All they do is open their mouth, and take in water. The gills act like a sieve, sending the water back out and keeping the food inside. This is called filter feeding, and some sharks can process over 500,000 gallons of water just like this every hour. Scientists have estimated that out of this much water, only around four pounds of food is obtained.
An average shark consumes approximately two-percent of its body weight in each meal they eat. Unlike Western humans, sharks do not have three meals a day. They usually only eat about once every three days. Nutrients are stored in oil in their livers and these can sustain them for long periods of time when necessary. Most sharks do not chew at all, either swallowing their food whole, or using their teeth to tear off chunks which are swallowed whole. Digestion in a shark takes a very long time.
Some sharks do not consume only fish or plant matter, they also eat sea mammals, including porpoises, dolphins, sea lions, seals and sea birds. These are among the favorite foods of the Great White Shark, Mako and Tiger Sharks. Tiger Sharks are also among the species of sharks that eat turtles. Some sharks have been seen eating such land mammals as deer, elk, and even goats. Every shark’s teeth have evolved to be suited for its particular prey.
Sometimes the answer to “what do sharks eat?” does have a more specific answer. Stingrays are one of the favorite foods of Hammerhead Sharks. Blue Sharks like to eat squid. A Dogfish Shark prefers lobsters and crabs. Almost every shark will eat all other fish, with mackerel and tuna being at the top of the consumption list. It is the Tiger Shark whose stomach contents have been known to include metal objects, such as license plates, gasoline cans and other garbage-type items. Most sharks can see in the water but they also locate their prey through an extraordinary sense of smell and a special sense that allows them to feel vibrations from whatever is swimming in the water.
Some sharks are bottom dwellers, finding all of their food on the bottom of the ocean. Many of these sharks have coloring which acts as a camouflage or like the Angel Shark, they bury themselves in the sand and ambush other unsuspecting fish. Humans are never the answer to the dietary question, “what do sharks eat?.“ Humans are not the normal target of any shark, and in most cases human fear of sharks is unwarranted.