9781422276778

to eat more than one animal when attacking a school of fish, it’s actually not in the shark’s best interest to breach the water, as this clearly alerts all other fish in the area of its presence. Mako sharks are also known to breach the water when they are caught in a fisherman’s net or fishing line. While it may be interesting to watch, it’s actually quite sad because while putting on this display, mako sharks are trying to free themselves from the hooks in their mouths or untangle themselves from the nets, not put on a fancy show for people to watch. Many fishermen tell stories about mako sharks jumping on boats and attacking those on board. Some mako sharks have even been known to destroy the boats of the fishermen who were attempting to catch them by taking bites out of the boat. Humans often kill mako sharks, but they do not go down without a fight. When mako sharks do get away from fishermen, the sharks are often left with devastating injuries, such as hooks still being stuck in their mouths or nets being tangled around their fins, causing cuts when they move. When these injuries eventually result in death, it is not reported to fishing authorities, making it seem like the number of mako sharks killed by fishermen is much lower than in reality.

The mako is a large species of predatory shark that can grow up to 14.6 ft. (4.45 m).

15

Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker