Book Recommendation: 1,000 Facts About Sharks by Sarah Wassner Flynn

As you may have noticed, I like sharks - not because they are predators, or scary but because they are so fascinating. They are ancient - sharks have been in the ocean for 450 million years. There are also so many types of sharks. I was lucky to find this wonderful book at my local library, and wanted to share some of the facts to inspire you to learn more about sharks, or maybe check out this book! We hope you think these facts are fin-tastic!

All facts below are exact quotes from the book - thank you Sarah Wassner Flynn! (Parentheses are our thoughts).

1. A Blue shark was featured on a 2008 $1 coin used on the Pacific Island of Palau, AND The Costa Rican 2,000 colones banknote depicts a bull shark swimming around a coral reef.

   

   
   

2. 

   The epaulette shark will sometimes climb out of the ocean at low tide ant "WALK" ON ITS FINS! (We were lucky enough to see epaulette sharks at the NY Aquarium).

3. The skin of an adult whale shark is as thick as a mattress. (Plus, whale sharks are super cute and peaceful!)

4. The Squalu clarkae shark - also known as Genie's dogfish - is named after [Eugenie] Clark.

5. In Florida, U.S.A., it's illegal to "land" sharks, meaning they must be returned to the water free, alive, and unharmed if caught. (If you want to learn more about conservation efforts, check out Save The Sharks.

   

   

6. When a family member passed away, some Indigenous Polynesians cast their loved one's body into the ocean to transform them into shark spirits.

7. When a shark gives birth, it's also known as pupping. (And, yes, a baby shark is called a pup!)

   

   Photo from https://oceanographicmagazine.com/news/climate-change-shark-pups/

   8. The wobbegong's name is from the native Australian word for "Shaggy Beard" (A wobbegong is a type of carpet shark, which we also got to see at NY Aquarium).

   

   
   

8. The Greenland shark, the world's slowest-swimming shark, cruises at an average speed of about .76 mile an hour. AND, regularly swimming at speeds of 30 miles an hour, a shortfin mako is the world's fastest shark.

9. Basking sharks are the largest shark pups, measuring roughly 5 feet 7 inches at birth. That's longer than a 10-year-old is tall.

10. Some scientists think the regular beat of jazz music is closer to the natural sounds sharks are familiar with. In fact, using food as a reward, Port Jackson sharks have been trained to identify jazz music underwater. The sharks were trained to go to speakers playing jazz music and not speakers playing classical music.

11. Some female sharks return to their birthplace, again and again, like sea turtles, to give birth.

12. In 2009, the island country of Palau in the western Pacific Ocean became the first to create a shark sanctuary by banning all shark fishing within the 240,000 square miles of its waters.

If you are interested in more shark love, check out "Journey to Shark Eden", a documentary that shows a lot of shark beauty.

AND, if the idea of jazz and sharks appeals to you, check out this music by Paul Baker - "Swimming with Sharks".

Mark your calendars - July 14th is Shark Awareness Day.

Thanks for swimming through these shark facts with us!