9781422276716

Blue sharks are found almost throughout the entire world, except in very cold areas such as the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. While blue sharks do prefer cold water, the temperature of the Arctic and Antarctic areas are simply too cold. They do not usually come near the coastline, and it’s rare to see them away from the vast open ocean, as they prefer to swim away from obstacles. Sometimes, blue sharks do swim near small islands, but it’s likely that this is unintentional. Blue sharks do not go out of their way to approach large groups of people, meaning they will not swim out of their habitat to come near the shore. This makes it difficult for scientists to learn about blue sharks—they’re simply hard to find. Scientists learn about blue sharks by tagging them, but first, they have to locate them. Scientists are currently working hard to find out more about how many blue sharks live in the wild, but since they migrate frequently, it’s difficult to know how many are left. When people come near blue sharks (on boats or diving expeditions), blue sharks are quick to interact with them, as they are very curious. Many blue sharks have never encountered a person before, due to their preference to stay away from shore. Blue sharks’ curious nature and slow movement make them ideal animals for scuba divers and cage divers to observe. Blue sharks will often swim up next to divers in an effort to learn more about them. Unlike most sharks, blue sharks do give quite a few warning signs before becoming aggressive, so it’s important that divers interacting with them keep an eye out for signs of hunting behavior. These warning signs make it possible for humans to dive with blue sharks, as they do not simply attack without giving signals. Blue sharks are not ideal in aquariums, but this is not due to their tendency to hang out in groups or their ability to become aggressive towards humans. One of the reasons that blue sharks do not do well in captivity is because they prefer to not have any boundaries to their swimming: no walls, no obstacles.

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