A Thank You To YOU (but not done yet)! Now go out and make a difference!

(Picture from yesterday!)

So I am presenting this blog later on today and this the last post before I have to present. I just want to thank you all for coming onto my blog and commenting! I am so thankful for you guys especially since I go people from FRANCE, UKRAINE, AND SOUTH AFRICA!! I never thought my blog would reach outside of the US but it did! Thank you so much!

Now I am going to continue this blog because hopefully one day I can put my own videos and pictures up so please keep looking at this blog!

So before I continue back up with sharks in the Caribbean I thought I should give you guys and girls and list of some shark conservation groups you can look at and support! Follow the links below because.....

Follow Link for Picture!


Some shark groups:
(Some I found and others I already knew about)
Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS)
The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
Conservation Groups List
Another List

But for now I will leave you with this Great White Shark by Andy Brandy Casagrande IV

Follow Link for Video!

East Coast: Caribbean: Bull Shark

Please comment!!!!

Bull Sharks

Follow this for link to picture!


Now these guys I think are the real "Jaws". They are found anywhere in coastal warm waters and even found in the Amazon River. Their kidneys help their salt levels stay the same when they go into fresh water by controlling how much salt is taking out of their body through their blood (check out this article by Shark Savers, great way to explain it). Because of this special ability, that is why I think they are the real "Jaws" because they can go anywhere and they do not like anything in their territory.

And in the movie "Jaws" when they say shark attacks can happen in three foot of water, yes it can. This Bull kept knocking into the guy on purpose to see who the heck was in it's space:

Link for Video
(I apologize that the video quality is poor so follow the link for a better video)

 So why don't like they like anything in their territory? Well it's because they are very aggressive species of shark. They have higher testosterone levels than any other shark so the females can be a little aggressive because the extra sex hormones in their body, but the males are super aggressive! That's why they are just jerks if you ask me. People think Great Whites are scary and bad, but it's really these guys because they are so aggressive. They are the shark with the highest rate of shark attacks (even though one site earlier said otherwise, I think they need to look more into that) not Great Whites.

Map of where they can be found:

Link for Picture

But as side to the high testosterone, there is still a lot about this species of shark. These species of shark grow a little over 6 feet, but don't get as long as male Great Whites (13 feet if you remember!). The cool thing about these sharks is that their gestation is just a month longer from ours and again like other species of shark have a bunch of pups! Like other species of shark, they are endangered again because of fishing. Nevertheless, even though I think these sharks are jerks, they are pretty special. But if I were you, I would observe these sharks from a safety of a boat.

Some more info to look at (National Geographic)

Next Time: A Thank You (but not done yet), and then come back to the Caribbean.

Bibliography

So I took this idea from my friend Raegan and what she did in her blog was take pictures of books she used in her blog (which is a really cool blog by the way) so I decided to do the same.

I really only used one book and then the Internet (which I provided links to the real page so you could see it yourself) so the book I used a couple of times as The Shark Handbook by Dr. Greg Skomal. It's a really cool book on a bunch of sharks and you should all check it out. I had the honor of meeting him once after I realized he wrote the book that was one of the main reason why I want to study sharks. Anyways here's the picture of the book and a link to the publisher's page of the book!

 (Yes I put a bunch of tabs in the this book to help teach myself stuff about sharks because this is a really cool book!)

The Shark Handbook By Dr. Greg Skomal

Again I used this book on just a couple species of sharks like the Greenland because I don't know a lot about them like I do Great Whites.


Please look at the other posts!!! Thanks!!!

More About Me

I will get to the shark posts, but since I am drawing closer to when I get to present this blog, I realized I never talked about the first shark I saw and why I wanted to be a Marine Biologist. So here is the story:

So I am 6 years old and my family takes my brother and I to the New England Aquarium and like any other child I am wicked excited. One thing I remember was seeing this sharks swimming around and it's HUGE! Mind you I am like 4 feet tall at this age so everything is big anyway. So I watch this shark swim around and to me it looks like it's yellow. Then my family went over to the other exhibits and then we left that aquarium with a giant stuffed dolphin because I was in love with those creatures back then. But, I still kept thinking about how I saw that yellow shark. Since I kept thinking about the yellow thing I saw, I told all my friends at school. They all told me what? It couldn't have been yellow! You're crazy. Well at least they said something like that. So I was a little sadden, but I thought the shark was so cool. I learned later on in my life that what I saw was........
A LEMON SHARK!

Lemon Shark Picture

So after that I went through a phase of dolphins and I loved them! But then around middle school I started to think about that "yellow" shark again. I started to remember how most kids would be scared, but I wasn't. Maybe at first but I was standing there fascinating in it's yellow glory. As I kept thinking about it I decided that I still wanted to be a Marine Biologist but instead of dolphins, I wanted to study them sharks. Then I realized I wanted to hug one too.

My question for my audience is have you seen your first shark? If you have already seen a shark for the first time where was it? Were you scared? Nervous? Excited?

Please answer in the comments below!!!!

Next Time: The Caribbean!!

A Shark Lives Longer Than A Moose

In the past posts about the sharks themselves, I never mentioned how long they live. The lifespan of sharks in unknown for most species, but for some like the Great White and Whale it's 100 years. For other species like Spiny Dogfish it can even be 100 years while Moose are only 25 years hence the title for this post. In one of my other classes we're learning about Moose and I realized I never talked about the lifespan which inspired this post.

For "I say" picture

But if you want to see a table of what the lifespan is of other species of shark (which is what I did because I knew Great Whites were already rumored to live until 100), here is a link (Enchanted Learning) to an article which again shows most of it is unknown which is why shark research and funding it is so important.

Keep in mind if you do your own research on how long they live, you will see captivity lifespans for some sharks, but a lot of species of shark are not good in captivity. The perfect example of that is Great White Sharks. Every time they put those big sharks in a tank, they die in the end some not lasting long while others last for a good while. If you ask me it's because the Great White Shark needs a bigger tank so big that an aquarium can't provide for because they travel so much in their life. Also I think their ampullae of Lorenzini (I will explain later in another Fun Tip post) goes crazy which is why you hear how the Great White will bang into the glass a bunch of times. I couldn't find a video of it but found one of the first success stories I am now hearing. Shark is still alive, but not in the aquarium anymore. Check it out!

(From YouTube link here: First Great White in Captivity

I hope you enjoyed this little post, but I will start on the next group of sharks soon!

Please comment and look at the other posts!

Why I'm doing this FOR PERSUASION!

So a week or go ago or so, someone asked me what I wanted to do for a career. My answer was to be a Marine Biologist so I can study Great White Sharks, which I'm already doing by studying Marine Biology at college. This person asking the question said to me "Now is there money in this kind of thing?"....

Now this kind of thing pisses me off I will say because it's not about the money (yes it would be great to make a bunch of money like Bruce Wayne, but...) IT'S ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE! It's about making a difference in the world and even protecting Great White Sharks themselves. I want to educate people on sharks because people think they are man-eaters! The person that even asked me about what I wanted to do even said "Make sure you keep them away from us"....

No...just no...this is the main reason why I decided to do yet another project on sharks because there are people like the person that asked me the question, that are not fully aware about everything about sharks. I know a good amount about sharks because I read shark books and then yes Shark Week, but whenever I see books about sharks I have to buy them. So I want to put more information out there for the world to see.

Which is why this blog is such a great idea! I get to educate all of you so that you can go out into the world and know that sharks don't mean any harm really they just make mistakes. Then with this information that you learn, you know that you should help conserve them because you now know that some shark species only have a couple of pups with a gestation of a least an average of a year!

This is why I do this, I do it to help us stay safe and understand them while helping out the sharks. To help promote my blog because I believe in it and want to make people open their minds, I wore a shark costume...around school for two days through classes and even meals....I did it all FOR PERSUASION!

It was very successful because I ended up being put on Yik Yak, and even Snapchat stories. By doing this, people saw my sign went on my blog and then walked away knowing how to protect and help educate people.

So I hope after reading this, my reasons are now much more clearer to you in what I am trying to do. Please remember that sharks are friends not enemies and should be respected like you respect your friends.

Next Time: East: Caribbean! and we get to look at Hammerheads, Black Tips, White Tips, and some others!

Photo Credits to my friends: Kaitlyn, Lilah, Greg, and Jo!

Mid-Atlantic: Iceland & Greenland: Greenland Sharks

PLEASE COMMENT AND KEEP VIEWING! Also vote!!

Greenland Sharks

Greenland Shark Photo: Credit to Doug Perrine

First thing to know about these sharks is that they have parasites that get in their eyes. The parasites cause the sharks to actually go blind (Parasite). Greenland sharks are cannibalistic, which I learned reading one of my many shark books (The Shark Handbook by Dr. Greg Skomal).  The Shark Handbook Review from Goodreads. These sharks that are as big as Great Whites, mainly patrol the very cold water around Iceland, Greenland, and even the Arctic. They also can be found in Canada's waters as well and through some research even in South Africa and Antarctica.

Here is a map:

Greenland Shark Map Picture

Now what do these sharks eat? Since their blind they just swim on the bottom looking for corpses of dead animals even horses and reindeer. Then like mentioned before, they are cannibalistic as well. They even feed on seals.

When it comes to breeding, again the female is bigger than the male and they are ovoviviparous. This term means that the eggs hatch inside their body and then are born live without an attachment from their mother and this definition came from Dictionary.com.They also give birth to a bunch of pups!

Now Greenland Sharks populations are threatened by fishing like any other sharks. They are not as threatened as other sharks by looking at a list made by Shark Advocates International . The reason is because when they are fished for their meat, the meat is too toxic to eat right away because of the chemicals in it. So fisherman just grab a couple of sharks then hang them up to wait for the toxic chemicals so they don't need to hunt as many sharks. After the meat as fully decomposed as much as it can then is turned into Hakarl. That is why they are not as threatened as other sharks because they are not fished constantly for their meat.

There is still a lot to learn about these sharks, but they are amazing creatures.

Fun Fact I learned while doing research: they attack Polar Bears!


Helpful sources that helped me and can help you:
Greenland Shark Info
More Greenland Info that helped me write this post from R. Aidan Martin
Daily Mail article
Hakarl

Next Time:
Why I'm doing this FOR PERSUASION!

Fun Tip 1: How to not become a shark's next meal

This is Fun Tip 1, I will be doing more in the future.

This is how to help you swimmers not get mistaken for prey by a shark!

Below is a video about what some researchers are doing to test this hypothesis that sharks DO mistake us for prey. Then the hyperlink below the video is to the article about the research efforts. I have heard that they just did these experiments in pools or the ocean, basically without the sharks themselves. I did hear they were going to test it with sharks in the water, but again that is just a rumor I heard.

(From YouTube)
Article:Researchers look at seals vs. humans

What they don't mention in this video that is also an important key, is that when you are swimming, sometimes you sound like a distressed fish. This leads sharks to investigate and then sometimes bite you to see what you are.

So what can you do?

1. Swim with others and close to shore during the day. My parents always taught me only to your belly so I would do the same when you’re in shark invested waters. Yes some shark attacks still happen in three feet of water, but by swimming with a bigger group of friends, you should be fine.
2. Don’t wear brightly colored swimsuits because they are attracted to that too. Don’t wear jewelry either because of the reflection of light they will like that too.
3. Girls! If it’s that time of the month, don’t even bother swimming because sharks have a great smell and will be attracted. So just work out on your summer beach tan. And guys if you cut your foot or you just have a wound that’s bleeding, work on your sun tan too.
4. If you see someone fishing or you see seals or sea lions, don’t swim either because then you will get mistaken for food.

If you just follow these four steps or signs you should be fine. If you want to know more signs of when not to swim you should check out this link (From Clymb).

Now if you’re a surfer, what can you do? Well you could get a suit like these (follow the link for pictures) because they are shark proof because of the way they look. The first one you’ll see is this one. The black and white stripes make you like something else that the sharks don’t know and one of the only things in the ocean I know that are stripped like that are sea snakes….something the sharks don’t want for a meal. These suits were made by Hamish Jolly, Craig Anderson, and the University of Western Australia. 

More shark suit pictures from this website (also where the one from above came from)

So that is the fun tip for the day and if you guys and gals follow this you should be good, but understand that next time when you're swimming or you hear about a shark attack, remember that sharks ARE NOT AFTER YOU! They just make mistakes sometimes.

Tell me what you think about this fun tip or whatever else you want to see later! Thanks!

Next Time: ICELAND!

East Coast: New England Sharks: Great White Shark

Hello everyone!

PLEASE COMMENT AND VIEW!!!

NOW ONTO MY FAVORITE SHARK!!!

Great White Shark

For Picture: http://itsblogginevil.com/2014/08/08/in-honor-of-shark-week-this-sunday-shark-week-memes/


So most people when they hear Great White Shark think, man-eater, "Jaws", and we're going to die. Well really these Great White Sharks are just large predators like bears but in the water. They shouldn't be feared because like other sharks they are very curious.

Great Whites can grow up to 20 feet with most females being up to 18 while males being 13 feet because the females are bigger because they're the ones carrying the pups for A YEAR! Yes like other sharks, Great Whites have a long gestation and only give birth to up to 10 pups. This is why when shark populations go down, it's hard for them to bounce back. When Great Whites give birth they give birth to live pups that don't have an umbilical cord like us (which I learned while reading some sharks books which I thought was wicked cool!). Then to feed those pups and themselves, they will eat seals mostly and even dead whales.

Now how come Great Whites are hunted and fished? Is it because of shark finning? NO! IT'S BECAUSE OF HUMANS! Back in the 1970's when "Jaws" came out, fisherman starting hunting them for sport because everyone wants to get a nice trophy of a 20 foot fish. People also hunted them out of fear which I why I want to study them and educate the public about the truths of these animals. So that's why their shark populations where going down, but now they are starting to rise.

For Picture: http://www.bushwarriors.org/great-white-shark-in-danger/

Great Whites are very mobile creatures which is why it's hard to see them a lot and to hunt them for their fins. The only big places they really occupy is Seal Island in South Africa which is where they jump out of the water and in California by a Seal Island there and then Maratha's Vineyard in Mass off of Cape Cod. So that's my bit about Great Sharks!

If you ever want to learn more about Great Whites, there a bunch of great books about them which some of them are the true reasons why I want to study them because the books are awesome! Shark Week is good too, but read the books written by the great Marine Biologists that got to get up close to them!

Remember, THEY ARE NOT OUT TO GET YOU! All that want are those seals which they easily mistake you for because they have poor vision!

Next Time: A fun tip about what you can do to avoid getting mistaken by sharks! Then, ICELAND!

Website used to look up size of sexes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_white_shark

Do some research on these ones! And if you want to know the books that I read for these sharks just comment and we can discuss! 

Later Today

Later today I will be posting the Great White Shark post for the New England Sharks! I apologize for the late post because I have been home and such and with the holiday yesterday. So now I will keep posting again so I can talk about other places because not everyone lives in New England. Thank you to my viewers, I give a huge thank you to you and those that are commenting. Please keep viewing and commenting!

East Coast: New England Sharks: Mako Shark

PLEASE COMMENT OR VOTE! THANKS!

Mako Sharks

Picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortfin_mako_shark

These are the fastest species of shark, and if you ask me they look like one of the menacing species of shark. Mako sharks are either longfin or shortfin, which I found pretty cool through extra research. These sharks will get six feet long like most of the species of sharks. Which again makes me sad because most sharks are taller than me....anyways these sharks give birth to live young.

But the problem when giving birth, come species of shark only have a few pups but it takes a little over a year for them to fertilize. Mako sharks are one of these species where a female could only have four pups but it took her 18 months to fertilize those puppies.

Which is why Mako sharks need to be conserved because people will hunt them for sport and for Shark Fin Soup (which I've heard is starting to cease to exist). People kill 100 million sharks a year and some of them are Makos, so by killing so many of them, you're not helping the population have a enough time to replenish.  This is one of the big reasons why I am doing this blog to help educate you all to conserve them, and respect them instead of just killing them or fearing them.

To end on a lighter note, you will find these Mako sharks everywhere because they can easily adapt to cold and warm temperatures and they will eat all kinds of fish.

For more information: http://www.sharks-world.com/mako_shark/ and http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=36

Again please comment and vote! Thank you again for everything and hope you enjoyed this post about Mako Sharks!!!

Next time: GREAT WHITE SHARKS!

East Coast: New England Sharks: Blue Shark

PLEASE COMMENT ON EARLIER POSTS AND THIS ONE!

Blue Shark














Blue Shark Picture

These guys swim deep in the water so you're not very likely to see them frequently. They are one of the few fastest sharks and grow to about 4 meters long (12 feet or so). One thing to note about these species they give birth like humans by the pup growing inside of them unlike having dolphin purses like other sharks. When I was younger I was led to believe by a friend that only a Sand Tiger and a Nurse shark only gave birth like humans but that is false. Blues can also have a big liter of pups the max being at least about 100...that's a lot of pups! (for better idea of numbers look at the article below!)

A cool thing about Blues is that they will actually travel in groups. Basking Sharks will do it too sometimes, but Blues will hang out with fellow Blue Sharks their size. These Blue Sharks in groups or maybe sometimes alone, will go after squid to eat or small fish. They can be dangerous to humans because you're in their territory and they don't like that so if I saw one I'd give it space.

Another thing about Blue Sharks I would like to point out is that they mate aggressively. Basically what Blues will do and other sharks is bite the female and turn her on her dorsal (back) side. So if you're ever diving and see a female shark with a bunch of bites on her, it's from the mating.

This is a White Tip but I thought I would bring up some anatomy now and so you know, these are claspers so this is a male White Tip.

Blue Shark Picture 2

The picture above showing what a Blue Shark looks like, looks to be a female.


I hope you enjoyed this installment of a Blue Shark, please comment on this posts and others giving me your thoughts and vote on the side if you found this information useful.


For more information: Blue Shark Info~ Click on me!

East Coast: New England Sharks: Basking Shark

So every week or a couple times a week I will be posting sharks that are near you!
First one: the East Coast so basically New England

*I will be posting pictures of sharks that aren't mine so I will provide a link to give credit also any other information that is not mine*

Basking Sharks

These sharks are HUGE!

Basking Shark Picture

They are about 13 meters long so if you think about it, a Great White is only 6 meters (20 feet). They still have teeth of course, but what they do is that they open up their mouths and use their gills to help filter out food. So basically they eat just like a whale. These sharks are harmless to humans and if you really want to meet one, it'll probably be on a whale watch. These animals are beautiful and they are the second largest fish in the world with first being the Blue Whale. Basking sharks are endangered though because I learned over this past weekend that they have a population less than 8,000 because back in the old days they were killed for human resources like for oils for lamps. They are really beautiful creatures and just amazing. 

More Info on Basking Sharks (For more information to look at and for more detail about how long their populations have been declining and the specific reasons why they were fished)

About Me

My name is Catherine Bilodeau and I'm a freshman in college right now. I am majoring in Marine Biology with the hopes of studying Great White Sharks. I want to find out more about this animal like behaviors and where they go to mate. I want to study Great Whites because they are so misunderstood! I've wanted to study sharks for a long time now and one of the reasons why is Shark Week. I love Shark Week and it even gets better when it's shown in my birth month, but that happens on rare occasions. I own a bunch of shark stuff and books because I just love them. I really hope you enjoy this blog and please comment because I want to know about what you think!

 I also play ice hockey!

Why I'm doing this:

This is for a school project, but I was inspired to do this. After going to my Marine Biology club's trip to a conference, I started to realize people might not know what kind of sharks live near them. I adore Great White Sharks and I actually want to study them when I'm older after getting a Master's degree. Right now I am a freshman in college majoring in Marine Biology. I really hope you enjoy this educational blog and realize that sharks should be protected not feared.