World - Of.animals Book - of.Sharks.&.Ocean - Predators P2P

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THE ULTIMATE
COLLECTION
OF THE OCEANS
MOST SKILLED
HUNTERS
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BOOK OF
INSIDE:
THE LIFE OF
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AT WHITE
Welcome to
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BOOK OF
The deep dark blue harbours some of the most chilling

and mysterious predators. Cunning, ruthless, and highly
adapted to its environment, the shark is at the top of the
oceans food chain, and continues to strike fear into the
hearts of humans and animals alike. We go under the
shimmery surface of the seven seas and dive deep into
the world of these razortoothed creatures to discover
the treasures they hide. Uncover the truth behind the
monstrous face made notorious by Jaws, Deep Blue Sea,
Sharknado and other high-action blockbusters. But there
are more dangers lurking in these waters get face to
face with the jaws and claws that want to make you and
other animals into their dinner, from cunning octopuses,
humongous killer whales and yes, even uffy grey seals.
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BOOK OF
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World of Animals Book of Sharks & Ocean Predators
2015 Imagine Publishing Ltd
ISBN 978 1785461187
Part of the
bookazine series
Contents
Sharks
10 The truth about sharks
86 Grey seals
16 50 facts about sharks
98 Galpagos sea lion
26 The most endangered sharks
90 Meet the family of whales
34 Tackling shark attacks
92 Songs of the humpback
38 All about great white sharks
98 Journey of the humpback
48 Great white attacks
100 Blue whales
54 Super senses of the hammerhead
102 The beauty of the gray whale
60 The beauty of the whale shark
104 Squid vs whale
62 Spotters guide to the whale shark
106 The mimic octopus
64 Prehistoric sharks
108 Meet the family of rays
66 Interview with Steve Backshall
110 Dolphins
118 Spotters guide to dolphins
Ocean Predators
120 Atlantic blue marlin
72 The mind of a killer whale
122 Saltwater crocodiles
80 18 facts about killer whales
134 Mysteries of the narwhal
82 The beauty of the orca
140 Polar bears
84 18 amazing facts about seals
150 50 facts about penguins
Thinkstock
Sharks
Theyre the surfers ultimate nightmare, their tailn a
horrifying omen of impending doom, but there is more
to this razor-toothed killer than meets the eye
10 The truth about sharks
16 50 facts about sharks
26 The most endangered sharks
34 Tackling shark attacks
38 Great white sharks
48 Great white attacks
54 Super senses of the hammerhead
60 The beauty of the whale shark
62 Spotters guide to the whale shark
64 Prehistoric sharks
66 Interview with Steve Backshall
16
Dreamstime; Alamy
38
54 60
Sharks & Ocean Predators
10
The truth about sharks
THE TRUTH ABOUT

Often the victims of fear and misinformation, the
scientic facts about these killer sh are far more
fascinating than any myth
Legends of sea monsters were widespread in
times before science was as advanced as it is
today. Sailors would return from voyages and
tell tales of mermaids, giant octopuses and
enormous sh that attacked for sport. As time
went on, our understanding of the sea grew
and science eventually dispelled notions of
such creatures, but revealed the truth about the
oceans dangerous inhabitants.
Sharks haunt nightmares across the globe

and their position in popular culture has been
stirred by Hollywood hits like Jaws and media
coverage of shark attacks. The truth about
these huge sh is that they are intelligent
animals at the very top of the food chain. Each
has evolved to ll a specic niche and only a
handful of these creatures can be considered
truly deadly to humans.
What makes a sh deadly?

Though a ounder is unlikely to strike fear into your heart, some
sh have super-charged equipment to make them killing machines
Skin
Even a sharks skin is
covered with teeth. These are
called denticles and make the
animal more streamlined.
Muscle
Fast-twitch muscles allow
sharks to leap high out of the
water. The muscle contracts
quickly for short bursts.
Senses
Sharks have extremely good
vision and smell to help
pinpoint the exact location of
their prey.
Teeth
Growing up to 20,000 teeth in
a lifetime, sharks constantly
grow new teeth to replace
any that are lost.
Electro-reception
Jelly-lled pores on their face
conduct electrical impulses,
like those created by the
muscles of injured prey.
Skeleton
A sharks skeleton is made
of cartilage rather than bone,
making the animal lighter,
faster and more exible.
11

Mako shark
The fastest shark in the sea

These sharks live out in the open ocean and hold
two shark speed records. Not only have they been
clocked at 32 kilometres (20 miles) per hour, but they
also swim long distances at great speeds. Tagged
sharks have been known to travel 2,130 kilometres
(1,320 miles) in just 37 days, averaging almost 60
kilometres (40 miles) per day.
Mako sharks can raise the temperature of
their muscles to get them working faster. They
also have a high metabolism that keeps them
moving at all times of the day.
Feeding on speedy sh like tuna has helped the
mako develop its super speed. Bony sh make up
around 90 per cent of a mako sharks diet and the
other ten per cent is a variety of foods, from squid
to dolphins. Mako sharks are apex predators, which
means they are at the top of their food chain. Without
the threat from bigger carnivores, these sharks can
focus all their attention and energy on hunting.
Deep-water sharks are not usually a threat to
humans, but the mako has been responsible for
several attacks. Their speed, aggression and power
make them one of the deadliest sharks on the planet.
Whats the rush?
Tail
The asymmetrical tail is surrounded by muscle,
making it a powerful engine that forces the
shark forward. The shape makes the animal
manoeuvrable and helps it change direction.
Mako sharks have evolved to swim at incredible speeds,

partially to keep up with their fast-swimming prey
Muscle
Most sharks have muscles along their sides,
but mako shark muscles are closer to the spine.
This gives them greater control over their tail,
helping them launch out of the water.
Streamlining
The torpedo-like shape slices through the water
at break-neck speed. Their ridged skin cells
help reduce water resistance and their ns keep
them from rolling or spinning while swimming.
Lemon shark
The shark with the

sharpest teeth
Built to hunt, lemon sharks have several different strategies
for catching prey. Swimming along the seabed, they disturb
the sand to uncover buried sh before appearing from a
swirling cloud of sediment in the ultimate surprise. Lemon sharks
also ram feed, which involves lunging out of the water to snatch
oating sea birds.
Masters of the sea surface and the sand, lemon sharks have welldeveloped jaws to ensure prey has no chance of escape. Its jaws
are controlled by a complex series of ligaments and muscles that
control its stability. Surrounding joints prevent the jaws moving
from side to side when the shark shakes its head vigorously with
prey between its teeth. The jaw muscles are divided into four to
act as a shock absorber when the mouth snaps shut and the split
muscle helps deliver a greater force than one large block.
The shape of the lemon sharks teeth are the real danger and
rather than being triangular, the teeth are long and pointed like
miniature daggers. The pin-sharp tip of each tooth has a very small
surface area, giving the teeth extreme pressure to pierce the skin.
12
Lemon
shark tooth

Tiger shark
The oceans deadly genius

Responsible for numerous attacks on humans,
tiger sharks are denitely deadly. What makes
them so dangerous is their intelligence, as they
seem to understand the seasonal movements
of their prey. Many shark species migrate and
the tiger shark is no exception. In winter they
ock to tropical waters, but explore more of the
coastline as the water warms in summer.
Travelling hundreds of miles, tiger sharks
visit the same areas year on year to take
advantage of different sources of food.
The tiny and uninhabited French Frigate
Shoals island chain in the middle of the
Pacic Ocean is one of their frequent haunts.
This area is populated by ground-nesting birds
like albatrosses and tiger sharks are experts at
snatching clumsy chicks that splash-land from
their rst ight.
Australias Shark Bay is another popular tiger
shark destination and other animals alter their
movements to avoid becoming shark bait.
Green turtles forage from the centre of lush
sea grass elds in winter, but stick to the edges
when sharks come along in the summer. Tiger
sharks are one of the only animals to prey on
adult turtles, so the turtles are constantly on the
lookout for danger when sharks are in the bay.
Dolphins and dugongs also make themselves
scarce when the sharks are around.
Great white shark
The most feared

creature on Earth
A popular misconception is that great whites
are aggressive and seek out humans to attack,
but evidence suggests that sharks dont go
rogue or develop a taste for human esh.
Some believe that sharks mistake humans for
sea lions, their favourite prey animals, but this
is not the case either. When a shark attacks a
sea lion it zooms to the surface and bites down
with extreme force. Its typical for a great white
shark to approach a human at a leisurely pace
and take a bite or two.
Sharks use their teeth like we use our hands
and biting an unfamiliar object is a great whites
way of trying to understand what the object is.
They are extremely curious and investigative
animals. When the mouth is open, the tooth
bed is pulled back and the teeth ex outward
by ten to 15 degrees. This allows the jaws to act
like a pair of forceps and inspect whats in the
shs mouth.
Sea lions are coated with insulating fat, which
provides a great white with twice the energy
as ingesting muscle. When a shark gets hold of
a human, it realises the contents in its mouth
are bony and full of muscle and often lets
go. Unfortunately, at this point the damage is
already done.
When a shark gets

hold of a human, it
realises the contents
in its mouth are bony
and full of muscle and
often lets go
GREAT WHITE SHARK
Carcharodon carcharias
Class Chondrichthyes
Territory Temperate seas

Diet Marine mammals and sh
Lifespan Up to 70 years
Adult weight 2,300kg
(5,070lb)
Conservation status
VULNERABLE
13

Bull shark
The deadliest
shark alive
With the ability to invade fresh water as well as the
ocean, bull sharks have evolved to handle environments
that other sharks cannot. It gets its name from its
strength, stockiness and ferocious reputation. This
species has been spotted 4,000 kilometres (2,485
miles) up the Amazon river, as well as in rivers across
the globe. Its kidneys have evolved to process both salt
and fresh water to give it more water to explore.
It is well documented that bull sharks have eaten
other members of their own species, along with smaller
sharks and bony shes. They swim slowly along the
seabed, stalking their target before launching toward
it with its jaws wide open. Its teeth are heavily serrated
and tear through esh with ease. The small eyes
indicate the sh relies more on electro-reception than
its vision and therefore might be more likely to attack
an unfamiliar animal. Many attacks on humans have
been reported, with one expert suffering a bite during
a television interview.
Though they arent the biggest, these sharks can
pop up in almost any body of water and attack
anything thats swimming. They have a big appetite
and dont share the great whites particular taste when
it comes to what they eat.
Many attacks on humans have been

reported, with one expert suffering a
bite during a television interview
Megalodon myth
Frank Lane Picture Agency; Alamy; Thinkstock
Though long extinct, reports of megalodon

sightings keep the world guessing
Dont be fooled by altered
photographs or misleading
footage. The largest shark
that ever lived is extinct and
has never been seen alive
by human eyes. Measuring
up to 18 metres (59 feet),
the sharks size has been
determined by its large
teeth and rare fossilised
sections of the sharks spine.
If the giant shark still
existed it would need a
healthy supply of extremely
large animals like whales
to survive. However,
It is thought that the
megalodons extinction
allowed the evolution of
large lter-feeding whales. If
the megalodon still existed,
whales probably would not.
14
Megalodon
The largest
shark that ever
lived is extinct
and has never
been seen alive
by human eyes
Whale shark
Great white shark
20m (65.6ft)

BULL SHARK
Carcharhinus leucas
Territory Coasts of the

southern hemisphere
Diet Fish, marine mammals
Adult weight 90-230kg (198507lb)
Conservation status
NEAR THREATENED
Four myths about sharks

Some fallacies about the oceans greatest hunters
All sharks are
man-eaters
While some species do
indeed have an occasional
nibble on unfortunate
humans (the great whites,
bull and tiger variety
being among them), that
leaves approximately 475
types of sharks that dont.
Sharks need to
keep moving in
order to survive
Its true to a certain extent
that some sharks need to
move in order to breathe as
they need water owing over
their gills to take in oxygen,
but the vast majority are
able to pump water over
their gills. This means they
can remain more or less
stationary in the water and
still breathe.
Buccal chamber
Sharks maintain a
ow of water to their
gills by expanding and
contracting a cavity in
their head called the
buccal chamber.
Mouth open
Valves leaving the
gills stay closed and
water rushes in to
the buccal chamber
causing it to expand.
Sharks have to
turn on their side
to bite properly
Sharks can smell

human blood
from miles away
Sharks are adept at biting

and certainly dont have to
be sideways in order to do
so. The misconception could
come from the fact that
they whip their prey around
to break o chunks of meat.
They can smell food, but if

their sense of smell were
so sensitive as to detect
human blood from miles
away, the other smells
throughout the ocean
would be overwhelming.
Sharks
are adept
at biting
and certainly
dont need to
be sideways in
order to do so
Mouth closed
The valves are open,
so the buccal chamber
contracts and forces
water through the gills.
15
50 incredible facts about the planets

most extreme underwater predator
Nearly every stereotype of the shark is wrong. They arent
primitive animals, they arent mindless killing machines and they
dont prey on humans. Sharks are elasmobranchs, meaning that
they are sh with cartilage skeletons instead of bones. Far from
being an evolutionary leftover, however, this evolved to save
weight so large sharks could still be fast and agile swimmers.
Cartilage also lets sharks conserve calcium and phosphorous,
which is important because they need both for making teeth.
And they get through a lot of those. Sharks treat their teeth
as disposable weapons and can lose a couple with every bite.
In fact, sharks go through so many teeth in their lifetime that
the availability of the mineral phosphorous was historically the
biggest constraint on their spread around the world.
16
Sharks havent always been objects of fear. Victorian sailors

regarded them as entirely benign like dolphins. Then in 1916,
along the coast of New Jersey, four people were killed and
one badly injured in a spate of unprovoked attacks by sharks.
This sparked a media frenzy that inspired the famous 1974
novel Jaws by Peter Benchley, and its even more famous movie
adaptation, and sharks have been the villains of the sea ever
since. Despite the fact that you are roughly twice as likely to die
from a coconut landing on your head than a shark bite, we still
have a grossly inated sense of the threat these creatures pose.
Sharks are apex predators and very well adapted for hunting in
the sea, but the fact remains that for every human eaten by a
shark, 20 million sharks are eaten by humans.
50 facts about sharks
Thinkstock
Sharks treat their

teeth as disposable
weapons and can
lose a couple with
every bite
17
Shark bites
Do sharks have
1of taste?
tongues and a sense
The basihyal looks a bit like
a tongue, but it is really just
a protrusion of cartilage
on the oor of the mouth.
Sharkshave tastebuds on the
rest of their m outh, though,
and often give prey a test bite
to check the avour.
Shark anatomy
Whats inside
a shark?
Cloaca
Combined opening for
excretion, defecation
and reproduction.
Males have clasper
ns instead of a penis.
Spine
Made of cartilage rather than
bone. It extends into the top tail
n, for extra power.
Nostrils
Used for smelling, not
breathing. Some sharks
have protrusions called
nasal barbels that act
as smelling probes.
First dorsal n
Spine
Second dorsal n
can you tell a

2 How
sharks gender?
Caudal n
Male sharks have a pair of

protrusions called claspers
on their belly, between the
pelvic ns. These are used
like a penis to insert into the
females cloaca.
DK
Im
ag
es
Upper lobe
Pelvic n
Stomach
Very large compared
to the intestine and
can stretch to cope
with large meals.
Pectoral n
Corkscrew valve
Slows down food through the
very short intestine, to give
enough time to digest it.
Liver
Full of dense squalene oil, the
liver can comprise up to 30
per cent of the sharks mass
and take up as much as 90 per
cent of the space in the body.
Jlencion
Lower lobe
Epigonal
Unique to sharks. It is thought
to help with making red blood
cells, since sharks have no
bone marrow.
Heart
Sharks have much
lower blood pressure
than us. Swimming
muscles assist the
weak heart.
do
sharks hear?
3 How
The basihyal looks a bit like
a tongue, but it is really just
a protrusion of cartilage
on the oor of the mouth.
Sharkshave tastebuds on the
rest of their mouth, though,
and often give prey a test bite
to check the avour.
do you tell the

4 How
age of a shark?
Its not easy. Because they
shed their teeth so often, you
cant measure the growth
rings in them to determine
age. The vertebrae have
growth rings too, but they
arent added at a uniform rate,
so researchers inject marker
chemicals to captured sharks
to provide reference samples.
18
Thinkstock
Sharks treat their teeth as disposable weapons and

can lose a couple with every bite
Why do sharks have

so many ns?
They dont really have many more ns than other sh, its just
that they are larger and more conspicuous. Sharks use their wide
pectoral ns to generate lift, like the wings of a plane. The tail, or
caudal n, has a larger upper lobe because the spine extends into it.
This generates thrust and the notches reduce turbulence. The dorsal
and anal ns reduce the amount of side-to-side motion as the tail
beats. The second dorsal n is the only one missing from other sh
and it offsets the movement of the large upper caudal lobe.
Thinkstock
If a shark stops swimming

does it drown?
Its essential that sharks keep moving in order to get enough water across
their gills to breathe, nd out more about shark respiration below
Gill septum
Gill arch
2. Gill slits
It passes over the gill bars
and exits through the
gill slits.
4. Spiracle
Bottom-dwelling sharks have an opening
behind the eye that can pump water over the
gills when the shark isnt moving.
1. Inhale
Water enters through the
mouth, driven by the forward
motion of the shark.
Capillaries
Oxygen-depleted water
Gill laments
Shark bites
sharks have
9 Do
bones like dolphins?
No. Sharks belong to the
elasmobranch group of sh
that have lighter, more exible
cartilage in their skeleton,
instead of bone. Their muscles
are anchored directly to the
inside of their tough skin.
do sharks
10 How
stay buoyant?
5. Gulping
Some species also use the
mouth to actively gulp water
across the gills.
Sharks dont have a swim

bladder like other sh, so they
use their liver instead. The
amount of squalene oil stored
there is adjusted to leave the
shark slightly heavier than
water. The extra buoyancy is
supplied by dynamic lift from
the sharks ns as it swims
good is a
11 How
sharks eyesight?
Oxygen-rich water
Gill arches
Ventral aorta
3. Passive ventilation
Open-water species need to keep
swimming anyway or they will sink, so
this system works ne.
8
How many teeth does
A greatwhite shark
can get through
up to 50,000
teeth in its life
Shark teeth arent

embedded in the
jaw, but attached
to the skin. They
are designed to
be disposable and
are continually
replaced like a
conveyor belt from
the back of the
mouth. A great
white shark can
get through up to
50,000 teeth in
its lifetime.
DK Images
a shark get through in

a lifetime? Why is this
number so high?
Growth
Layers of razor-sharp, serrated
teeth roll forward to replace broken
or missing ones.
Does a sharks
12
skin help it to
swim faster?
Shark skin is covered with
scales like other sh, but shark
scales are made from dentine
and actually resemble tiny
teeth more than scales. These
dermal denticles generate
tiny vortices on their trailing
edges as the shark swims and
this vastly reduces the sharks
drag through the water.
The huge jaws of a

prehistoric shark,
the megalodon
Getty
Heart
Sharks have good night vision

and can contract and dilate
their pupils, which bony sh
cant. Sharks are either colourblind or can see only shades
of grey and green, depending
on the type of shark.
19
Shark bites
long do
13 How
sharks live?
Megalodon
Snout
Megalodon ate whales,
so its snout was
shorter to let it bite into
large prey.
Most species live for between

20 and 30 years. But the
whale shark is estimated to
live for up to 100 years.
the
14 Whats
smallest shark?
A kind of deepwater dogsh
shark called etmopterus
perryi. It lives in the
Caribbean Sea and grows no
larger than 20cm (7.8in) a
real puppy of a shark.
any sharks
15 Do
glow in the dark?
Yes, a few species use
bioluminescence to lure prey.
The brightest is the cookie
cutter shark, which glows over
its entire stomach, except for
a dark band round its neck.
This makes it look like a much
smaller sh silhouetted against
the sky.
it true sharks
16 Isdont
get cancer?
Sharks denitely do get
cancer, but theres some
evidence that a compound
called angiogenin, an inhibitor
in shark cartilage, reduces the
ability of tumours to grow, but
scientists havent yet agreed
on this. The disease can still
be fatal for sharks.
Whats the most

17
endangered
species of shark?
Both the large sawsh and
the common sawsh are listed
as critically endangered by
the International Union for
Conservation of Nature. Their
saw snouts can easily become
entangled in shing nets, and
they become trapped.
Great white
Size
Megalodon was probably
12-20m (39-66) long.
Thats larger than a
modern whale shark.
Bones
Although megalodon
didnt have true bones,
its skeleton was much
more calcied than
modern sharks.
19
Was
megalodon
a real shark?
Megalodon is an extinct species
that lived between 28 and
1.5 million years ago. Only
teeth fossils and a handful
of isolated vertebrae have
ever been found, so most
of what we know about this
animal is extrapolated from
comparisons with living
sharks. It does seem to have
been a true shark probably
related to the great white
and mako sharks. But
it was much bigger
between 2.5 and 3 times
the size of a great white.
21
Jaw
Calculations suggest
that megalodon had
a bite ve times more
powerful than that of a
tyrannosaurus rex.
20
How many
shark
species
are there?
True sharks are classied
in the superorder
selachimorpha and there
are more than 440
species alive today. A
new species of shark,
skate or ray is identied
approximately every two
weeks or so.
How do sharks give birth, and

what are mermaids purses?
Some sharks lay eggs
inside a case
Which is
18
the fastest shark
ever to have existed?
The shortn mako shark is
commonly thought to be the
fastest shark ever. An openwater hunter that chases fast
sh such as tuna, it can reach
up to 32km/h (20mph).
Alice Wiegand
20
Teeth
18cm (7in) long and very
robust. Edges were lined
with very ne serrations.
Most sharks retain their

eggs inside the female and
give birth to live young,
unlike other sh that
commonly lay their eggs.
A few species, including
the horn shark and Port
Jackson shark lay eggs
inside a leathery egg case.
Empty egg cases that
wash up on the shore are
called mermaids purses, for
imaginative reasons.
22
How does a hammerhead shark

know which way its going?
26
Which
ones dont
look like
sharks?
Stingray
Not properly. Some

species rest on the seabed,
but their eyes will still follow
nearby swimmers. Others may
rest one half of their brain at
a time, like dolphins do. The
spiny dogsh uses its spine
to co-ordinate swimming, so
that it can rest its entire brain
without stopping.
Are sharks
28
solitary
or do they live
in groups?
Jeremy Collins
Despite their oddly shaped heads,

hammerhead sharks can see
forwards at least as well as other
sharks, and possibly better. All sh
have their eyes set on the sides
of their head, but the hammer or
cephalofoil on a hammerhead shark
is right at the front so they have
much less snout to get in the way of
forward vision than other sharks. The
wide separation also allows better
directionality of the special electrical
sense of sharks. Hammerheads eat
stingrays and their electrical sense
helps them nd rays buried under the
sand on the seabed.
Shark bites
27 Do sharks sleep?
Electric ray
Many species are highly social.

Scalloped hammerheads can
form schools of up to 100
sharks, for example. Even
the normally solitary hunting
species can congregate in
groups around a rich food
source or to breed.
Do sharks ever
29
attack/prey on
other shark species?
24
Brocken Inaglory
the oldest
shark on
record?
What is the deadliest shark?
The International Shark Attack File keeps
records going back to the 16th century and
shows that the tiger, bull and great white
between them account for 99 per cent of
shark attacks on humans. Of these, the great
white tops the list with 249 unprovoked
attacks and 65 fatalities.
Modern sharks date back 100

million years, but there were
primitive sharks as long ago as
420 million years. One of the
earliest was cladoselache, from
around 370 million years ago.
Well preserved fossils show
skin, muscles and even internal
organs. Apart from a few
around the mouth and ns,
cladoselache had no scales.
Its teeth were smooth and it
swallowed its prey whole.
Bathynome
25
Whats
Skate
Frilled shark
OpenCage
Whats the
biggest shark?
it have
natural enemies?
30 Does
While the shark is high up
the food chain, orcas have
been known to attack and kill
great white sharks, and sperm
whales are also occasionally
believed to kill sharks. These
are exceptions, though. Most
of the time, sharks sit rmly at
the top of the food chain.
Manta ray
Moesmand
23
Carpet shark
Richard Ling
The whale shark. As

well as being the largest
shark, this is also the
largest sh. Only true
whales are larger. Adults
can be over 20m (66ft).
Most shark species have fairly

specic diets blue sharks
mainly eat squid, for example.
But great whites, tiger sharks
and mako sharks will eat
tuna, seals, sea lions,
dolphins and even smaller
shark species. Hammerhead
sharks dine almost exclusively
on rays, which are closely
related to sharks.
Sawsh
21
Shark bites
How many
31
people are killed/
attacked by sharks
every year?
In the last ten years, the
number of fatalities caused
by sharks averages out at less
than ve per year, worldwide.
35
How
powerful
are shark jaws?
Razor
The mako sharks front teeth are
razor sharp and are backward
orientated to aid grip.
Wear and tear
Due to their thinness,
the makos teeth are
continuously worn
down and replaced
constantly.
A six-metre shark, such as a great white, can

exert more than 18,000 newtons of force with
a bite. Thats a huge force twice as much as
the largest alligators, which have the strongest
bite of any land animal, and more even than
current estimates of the bite of the T-rex.
But it doesnt end there. An alligator only
exerts maximum bite force when its jaws are
almost shut. The wider it opens its mouth, the
less leverage is available for the jaw muscles
and the weaker the bite becomes. Great
white sharks have a unique arrangement of
muscles in their jaw that enables them to exert
maximum bite force, regardless of how wide
their mouth is opened.
How many
32
sharks are killed/
attacked by people
every year?
About 100 million sharks
are killed every year by
humans. Some of this is
recreational shing, but most
is commercial. Sharks are
killed for their ns for shark
n soup, and in the Australian
state of Victoria, shark is the
most commonly used sh in
sh and chip shops.
36
How
smart
are sharks?
If you turn a
33
shark upside
down does it go into a
Force
The wider the mako
opens its mouth the less
bite force it has. As such,
it relies more on cutting
its prey, rather than
crushing it.
deep trance?
34
Science Photo Library
This is called tonic immobility

and it doesnt work with all
species, but yes, lemon, nurse
and bull sharks and even great
whites will suddenly become
paralysed when ipped on
their back. This may have
evolved as part of mating,
to protect females from
aggressive males.
How fast can a

shark swim?
Sharks contract the muscles

on their left and right sides
alternately to drive their large
tails sideways. This makes the
head move side to side. Their
rigid skin and drag-reducing
dermal denticles allow them
to reach speeds of up to
32km/h (20mph).
Everyone know dolphins are intelligent,

but what about sharks? Sharks have a
similar ratio of brain to body mass as most
mammals and birds. They certainly arent
mindless killing machines. Seven great
white sharks were observed in 1987 off
the coast of South Africa, co-operating
to reoat a dead, beached whale so that
they could eat it. When great whites hunt
dolphins, they approach from above and
behind, to prevent the dolphin using its
echolocation sense to detect the shark.
There were primitive

sharks as long ago as
420 million years
37
Do sharks use
Ampullae of Lorenzini
These jelly-lled sacs in the head
help the shark locate prey.
Stormy dog
electricity to
sense their prey?
22
Sharks have an arrangement of jelly-lled pores,

concentrated around the head. These are called
ampullae of Lorenzini and they allow the shark to
detect electromagnetic elds. As well as giving
sharks an internal compass, this lets them detect
the minute electrical elds produced by the muscle
contractions of all living animals. A few sh and
other animals can also sense electrical elds, but
sharks have by far the most sensitive version of
this sixth sense.
Electro cells
The sensory cells in the
snout detect electrical
signals in the water.
38
Statistically, what are the

most deadly places on
Earth with regard to shark attacks?
USA
Native example: Basking
shark (cetorhinus maximus)
Total attacks: 947
Fatal attacks: 36
Last fatality: 2010
BERMUDA
Native example: Silky shark
(carcharhinus falciformis)
Total attacks: 3
Fatal attacks: 0
Last fatality: N/A
EUROPE
Native example:
Porbeagle (lamna nasus)
Total attacks: 36
Fatal attacks: 17
Last fatality: 1984
Thresher shark
Basking sharks
are huge
but generally
harmless
ASIA
Native example: Oceanic whitetip
shark (carcharhinus longimanus)
Total attacks: 120
Fatal attacks: 52
Last fatality: 2000
Bull shark
Basking shark
Shortn mako
Hammerhead
Whale shark
Whale shark
Great white
Nurse shark
Tiger shark
PACIFIC/OCEANIA ISLANDS
Native example: Tiger shark
(galeocerdo cuvier)
Total attacks: 121
Fatal attacks: 48
Last fatality: 2009
AFRICA
Native example: Bull
shark (carcharhinus leucas)
Total attacks: 299
Fatal attacks: 78
Last fatality: 2010
SOUTH AMERICA
Native example: Bignose
shark (carcharhinus altimus)
Total attacks: 101
Fatal attacks: 23
Last fatality: 2006
OPEN OCEAN
Native example: Dusky
shark (carcharhinus obscurus)
Total attacks: 17
Fatal attacks: 5
Last fatality: 2006
ANTILLES/BAHAMAS
Native example: Blacktip
shark (carcharhinus limbatus)
Total attacks: 61
Fatal attacks: 15
Last fatality: 1972
39
Are
there
sharks living
in every ocean
on the planet?
Yes. Sharks can cope with a wide range of ocean
temperatures, even within the same species. Some
sharks migrate thousands of miles each year.
AUSTRALIA
Native example: Scalloped
hammerhead (sphyrna lewini)
Total attacks: 417
Fatal attacks: 131
Last fatality: 2010
CENTRAL AMERICA
Native example: Great white
shark (carcharodon carcharias)
Total attacks: 52
Fatal attacks: 26
Last fatality: 2008
Whats a
common shark
in British waters?
40
Most of the small shark species seen off the British

coast are referred to collectively as dogsh. This
includes the spotted dogsh and the spiny dogsh.
They can reach 1-1.5m (3.3-4.9ft) in length.
Is there such
a thing as a
freshwater shark?
41
No shark species spends all its time in fresh water,

but both the river shark and bull shark have
adapted kidneys that allow them to cope with
fresh water for extended periods. They can swim
hundreds of miles up large rivers in search of prey.
NEW ZEALAND
Native example: Blue
shark (prionace glauca)
Total attacks: 44
Fatal attacks: 8
Last fatality: 1968
Where
can I nd
sharks?
42
BASKING SHARK: temperate

waters, both coastal and offshore
BULL SHARK: shallow tropical
coastal waters, estuaries and
large rivers
GREAT WHITE: coastal and offshore
temperate waters worldwide
HAMMERHEAD: temperate
and subtropical waters on the
continental shelf
NURSE SHARK: shallow tropical
reefs off the coast of West Africa
and Central America
SHORTFIN MAKO: offshore tropical
and temperate waters worldwide
TIGER SHARK: tropical and
subtropical deep water around reefs
THRESHER SHARK: tropical and
temperate waters on the continental
shelf of North America and Asia
WHALE SHARK: offshore tropical
and subtropical water, especially the
west coast of Australia
23
NASA
HAWAII
Native example: Sandbar
shark (carcharhinus plumbeus)
Total attacks: 102
Fatal attacks: 8
Last fatality: 2004
43
Can sharks smell
IC;BBIEC;J>?D=<?I>O5
Sharks have an incredible sense
of smell, and can tell which
direction a smell comes from
with their separate nostrils.
blood from miles

away, and if so how?
The open-water species can detect blood at concentrations
as low as one part per million, but they are even more
attracted to the smell of sh guts. By comparing the timing
of the scents arrival at each nostril, they can tell its direction
and quickly home in on distant prey.
Eyelid
The eyes roll back in
their sockets before the
shark strikes.
44
How do
sharks attack?
Only a few species of shark are solitary ambush predators

many are lter feeders or eat small sh and crustaceans
on the seabed. The aggressive hunters tiger shark, bull
shark and great white usually patrol close to the surface.
They attack at dawn or dusk, when light is poor, and from
above so their light-coloured bellies make them hard to
spot against the sky. Some species of shark have an extra
transparent eyelid (called a nictitating membrane) that can
shield their eyes, but the great white does not, so it rolls its
eyes back in their sockets just before its strike connects, to
protect them. Very often sharks will pursue a hit-and-run
technique, taking a single bite out of their prey and then
retreating to allow it to bleed to death.
24
weirdest items
found in a shark?
Great white sharks roll their

eyes when they attack
45
What are the
BWZ_[ifo`WcWi
7hkXX[hjoh[
7hebbe\Y^_Ya[dm_h[
JWhfWf[h
7XW]e\fejWje[i
EZZi^e[i
7Ze]
7YWde\IfWc
7iWYae\YeWb
J^[^[WZWdZ\eh[gkWhj[hie\W
YheYeZ_b[
(All found in the stomachs of tiger sharks, which are the
most indiscriminate feeders.)
INTERVIEW
Richard Peirce
How It Works spoke to Richard Peirce,
chairman of the Shark Trust, about
sharks, their behaviour around humans
and how many species are becoming
increasingly endangered.
WHATS IN A NAME
The tiger shark is named aer
the sand-coloured stripes
on the sides of juvenile tiger
sharks, which fade over time.
The Trust was founded in

1997 and it was set up to
advance the prole of all
families of sharks through
awareness, education,
legislation and policy.
In recent years we have
become accepted as the
rst stop for government
departments wanting to
look at sheries legislation.
Which sharks
47
are native to
the UK and are media
claims of danger
overblown?
TALKING TRASH
The tiger shark is a potty mouth
in the sense that it will eat almost
anything, earning him the nickname
wastebasket of the sea.
My book, Sharks In British

Seas, lists the 30 or so
species that inhabit our
native waters. There are
many top-of-the-range
and iconic species close
to home. For example, the
hammerhead is a British
species; the same can be
said for threshers, makos
and blue sharks. A favourite
of mine is also native:
the porbeagle, which is a
genuine mini great white
and often mistaken as one.
On the area of danger to
the public there has never
been a single recorded
shark attack in British
waters in the conventional
sense. There have been
shark-caused deaths
and incidents, but there
has been nothing like we
have tragically seen in the
Seychelles recently, despite
us having some sharks that
people would consider
dangerous to man.
Does a shark
48
behave
differently in the
presence of humans?
Often sharks pursue a hit-an-run

technique, taking a single bite out of
a prey and letting it bleed to death
It differs mainly from

species to species and
circumstance. If you are a
diver on air and just chilling
out, diving along a reef,

that is completely different
from being with a shark in
a baited situation where its
feeding senses have been
stimulated. So if you are
chumming for sharks a
process where you put an
attractant into the water to
generate a scent corridor
and in a cage then they
behave very differently.
is cage
diving about?
49 What
Cage diving is a fantastic
way to see sharks The
cage has a hinged top that
rests on the surface of
the water. So the human
jumps over the side of the
boat and into the cage
They then proceed to
move to the bottom of the
cage, which is commonly
about nine feet in depth.
So the top of their head is
usually only about three
feet below the surface of
the water There is a rope
out with some bait on it
and the shark is drawn to
that. The bait line is then
drawn towards the cage
and the shark will follow
it. The boats operator will
then say something like
coming in from the left,
and the cages occupant
will then take a big draw
of breath and submerge
themselves for ten seconds
or so, viewing the shark as
it passes.
Where is the
best place to
50
go cage diving?
I would say South Africa. It
isnt necessarily the place
with the clearest waters,
but it is affordable and it is
pretty commercialised, with
companies running multiple
dives a day. You can do it
off Britain, though; I helped
set up Atlantic Divers in
Newquay, Cornwall..
Thinkstock
What activities
46
does the Shark
Trust undertake?
25
26
Endangered sharks
ENDANGERED SHARKS
Often unmatched in their own ecosystem, the oceans most
feared apex predators are threatened by human activities,
from unregulated shing to habitat degradation
Sharks are without doubt one of the most iconic
animals on our planet. From their hunting prowess
to their swimming speed, sharks are an unparalleled
example of evolutions ability to produce a truly
incredible beast. Although few sharks are preyed upon
in the ocean, many have become endangered due
to increased human activity over recent decades. A
number of different threats affect each shark species,
from general hunting to habitat degradation and food
chain alteration. Many experts agree that the biggest
problem over the years has been unmanaged sheries,
which are still a signicant threat in some parts of
the world. This has enabled sharks to be shed at
an unsustainable rate, with companies looking to
maximise prots without consideration for the welfare
of a certain shark species.
Catching sharks by accident (something known as
bycatch) is also a serious issue; many are just tossed
back overboard as they are no use to the sherman,
often already dead or seriously injured. The issue of
shark nning is well documented, which often involves
catching the shark, removing its n and putting it
back in the water, even though it cannot survive this
ordeal. The n is then used to make shark n soup,
which is still incredibly popular in China where its seen
as a delicacy to be served at special occasions such
as weddings or banquets. Their meat is also highly
sought after in parts of the world, as is their cartilage,
which is used medicinally, mainly in Asia. The trade of
trinkets that include shark teeth and even jawbones
continues to ourish internationally, and is another
reason why sharks are still being caught and killed in
such large numbers.
27
Basking shark
This huge shark is equipped with an extremely wide
jaw and large gill slits, but is no threat to humans
Basking sharks are truly incredible creatures that use more than
1,500 gill rakers to strain plankton from roughly 1.5 million litres
(330,000 gallons) of water per hour. They are the second largest
sh species, growing to 10 metres (33 feet) in length. An adult
basking sharks liver can weigh around one tonne (157 stone),
making up a quarter of its total body weight. It can live to the
grand old age of 100 in the wild. These sharks have unfortunately
been hunted in large numbers for their ns, liver, esh and skin.
They are also vulnerable to attack from killer whales and tiger
sharks, as an adult basking shark can provide a hugely nutritious
meal for either of these two predators. However, a decline
in basking shark numbers is mainly down to human hunting.
Their cartilage is still used today in Chinese medicine and as an
aphrodisiac in Japan.
Dusky shark
Threatened by humans and eaten by other
sharks, the dusky sharks population has
dramatically dwindled
Found in tropical and temperate waters, the dusky shark
can reach lengths of 4.27 metres (14 feet) and a weight
of 180 kilograms (400 pounds). Each year dusky sharks
embark on a voyage known to exceed 3,700 kilometres
(2,000 miles), as they swim towards the Poles in the
summer before returning to Equatorial waters for the
winter months. An unusual fact about the dusky
shark is that it takes 20 years for it to reach
sexual maturity, something that has
made the recovery of their struggling
population almost impossible, as it
has one of the lowest reproductive
potentials of any shark in existence.
Their population has dropped to
between 15 and 20 per cent of the
gure from 1970, due to the continued
shark n soup trade and because they often
die after being accidentally caught by sherman.
Scientists believe it could take up to 400 years for their
population to recover.
28
Endangered sharks
The great whites monstorous
looks dont help when it comes
to conservation
Great white
This great hunter is equipped with six senses and rows of sharp teeth
They may be capable of sensing
a drop of blood in 100 litres
(25 gallons) of water and even
smaller amounts within a ve
kilometre (three mile) radius, but
the great white is responsible
for less than half of all shark
attacks each year, few of which
are fatal. They are designed for
predation, able to reach speeds

of 24 kilometres (15 miles) per
hour with ease. Once they catch
up with their prey, their 300 odd
teeth make quick work of the
kill. Although the great white
is feared by many around the
world, it is no less susceptible
to hunting by humans. Their
teeth and jaws are a particularly

popular trading item, and
their meat is often sold for the
manufacture of pills in Asia. At
one point there were thought to
only be 3,500 great whites left
in the wild, but there have been
signs of population growth off
the coast of California.
Despite its size, the whale shark
doesnt hunt big prey quite the
opposite in fact
Whale shark
The largest living species of sh in the world, the whale shark
can grow to an impressive 12 metres (39 feet) or more
At 18.7 tonnes (2,944 stone), the
whale shark chooses to satisfy its
massive appetite with plankton.
Swimming close to the surface
they open their formidable jaws
and scoop up these tiny plants and
animals, along with anything else in
their path. The whale shark is a lter
feeder much like the basking shark.

Their fearsome size somewhat
belies their nature, as they are
known for being incredibly docile
sh, sometimes allowing swimmers
to hitch a ride on their backs. In
spite of being listed as a vulnerable
species, they continue to be hunted
in parts of Asia, particularly the

Philippines, even though the shing,
selling and exportation of whale
sharks was banned back in 1998.
The 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico is thought to have affected
the population, as the oil lingered
near the surface where they feed.
29
The scalloped
hammerhead shark
The oddly shaped heads of these amazing sharks
actually improves their ability to nd prey
Famed for its mallet-shaped head,
the scalloped hammerheads
unusual appearance functions
to spread out its specialised
sensory organs, which they
use to scan the ocean oor for
food. This helps them to seek
out their favourite meal, a stingray,
as it provides them with excellent
sensitivity to electrical elds, so it can
detect a potential meal even when
its completely buried in sand. Living at

depths of up to 500 metres (1,600 feet),
scalloped hammerheads roam the seas in
vast schools, to help keep reproduction
high and as part of their feeding habit.
Hammerhead sharks are unfortunately
among the most commonly caught sharks
for nning, which has caused its population
to decline by up to 95 percent during the
past 30 years. It is unknown how many
remain in the wild.
Angel shark
This ambush predator can pump water through its own gills,
so that it can keep breathing while lying in wait for its prey
Angel sharks can easily be mistaken
for rays or skates, due to their
unusual attened body and broad
pectoral ns, and because they
spend most of their days buried
in the seabed with only their eyes
visible. They use this position to hide
from their prey, sometimes waiting
up to a week before pouncing on a
30
suitable meal. Many shark species

need to swim in order to breathe,
but the angel shark is able to
breathe while remaining motionless
thanks to the spiracles on top of
its head. These structures pump
water through the gills, providing a
continuous supply of oxygen. Until
the late 1970s the angel shark had
no commercial value but suddenly

began to be marketed, causing the
annual catch rate to rise from 147
kilograms (324 pounds) in 1977
to the equivalent of a staggering
90,000 angel sharks in 1985, from
central California alone. By 2010,
the angel shark was classied as
critically endangered.
Endangered sharks
Gulper shark
This rare deep water dogsh is found only
off the coasts of Australia and New Zealand
Known as the dumb gulper or
Harrisons dogsh, this shark grows
to just over a metre (3.3 feet) in
length and has a large mouth, a
long, attened snout and huge,
distinctive green eyes. It is known
to live near the seabed, at depths
of up to 790 metres (2,592 feet),

where it feeds on small sh. For
such a small shark its lifespan is
impressive; closely monitored adults
are known to have lived for at least
46 years. The population of dumb
gulpers is suffering, partly due to
their low reproductive rate; as soon

as this was accompanied by heavy
trawl shing and drop-lining, the
numbers began to plummet,
leaving the species
in serious peril
today.
Zebra shark
These zebras can change their stripes; once
they reach adulthood they switch to spots
Confusion over what to call the zebra shark is unsurprising,
considering it has the characteristic stripes of its four-legged,
African namesake during its youth before the spots most
famously sported by leopards develop on their skin. The zebra
shark has two more distinguishing features, its huge tail that is
nearly the same length as its body, and the prominent ridges
that run along the entirety of the shark. They feed mainly on
molluscs and crustaceans; their exible body allows them
to squeeze into the narrow crevices where these creatures
are often lurking. Unfortunately, zebra sharks are frequently
hunted, both for sport and commercially for their ns, esh
and liver oil. The degradation of coral reefs is also bad news
for this species, as this forms much of their natural habitat.
Their exible body allows

them to squeeze into the
narrow crevices where these
creatures are often lurking
31
Speartooth shark
Rarely seen by humans, the speartooth shark
unusually inhabits tropical rivers and estuaries
Few sharks are as elusive as the speartooth. Unlike most other species
of shark, it uses tidal currents to aid its movement in water; ooding
tides carry it upstream while ebbing tides return the speartooth back
downstream. They prey mainly on small, bony sh and crustaceans
at night, and are perfectly adapted to hunting in almost complete
darkness. This is thanks to their small eyes and abundant ampullae
(electroreceptors). Speartooths are threatened by mainly unregulated
shing and habitat degradation. Speartooths are also facing drastic
habitat modication, as dredging and mining damage the ecosystem
in which they live. There are thought to be no more than 2,500 in the
wild, although this is only an estimate.
This rather comic looking shark is

capable of some incredible things in
order to survive
Porbeagle shark
Often referred to as blue dogs or
mackerel sharks, the porbeagle can raise
its body temperature to 10oC (50oF)
above the surrounding water
This sharks ability to change its body temperature is vital,
allowing it to adapt to the variable temperatures of the
North Atlantic Sea. This is achieved through a process
called thermoregulation, and helps the shark to swim
faster when hunting for prey. Although the porbeagle is
most commonly seen in the North Atlantic it can be found
all over the world, including South African and Australian
waters. The sharks most distinctive feature is its jagged,
three-cusped teeth, but it can also be identied by a white
blotch on its rst dorsal n. Aggressive shing in Norway
and other areas has caused porbeagle numbers to drop
they are often caught by accident and then often die as a
result. Like the gulper shark, they have a low reproductive
rate, which has unfortunately led them to become an
endangered species.
The sharks distinctive

feature is its jagged,
three-cusped teeth
32
Endangered sharks
SHARK ALERT!
Shark populations continue to decline at an alarming rate
32%
AN ESTIMATED
SOME SHARK
POPULATIONS
OF OPEN OCEAN SHARKS
Percent of Historic Populations
ARE THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION

up to
79%
65%
50
OVER THE LAST
100
89%
99%
HAVE DECREASED BY
83%
80%
60%
5%
70%
75
50
25
YEARS
Hammerheads
White
Shark
Tiger Grey Thresher Blue Mako

Shark Shark
Shark
Shark Shark
Oceanic
Whitetip
Interview with shark expert Paul Cox

We spoke to the Shark Trusts Director, Paul Cox, to nd out how they are trying to save sharks
What are the main things that
the Shark Trust are trying to
implement at the moment?
We have a three-pronged
approach. We are rstly looking
at science-based, sustainably
managed sheries. We work
at policy level with the shing
industry and with the public to try to keep up the
pressure and ensure that where sharks are being
caught, they are part of a managed, sustainable
shery. Linked to that, we are increasingly
interested in and pushing for a responsible
supply chain, right from when the shark is landed
through to the consumer, and that the right
information is available for consumers to make
informed decisions. Those two pillars work hand
in hand sustainable sheries and responsible
trade. The third pillar is looking at where

endangered species are, specically where their
populations have deteriorated to the point where
they are classied as threatened. Then we will
work with a number of organisations including
television partners to push for wildlife protection
measures, legislation and then enforcement of
that legislation.
Why is it so important to save the sharks? What
would happen if they were to go extinct?
Its important to remember that not all sharks are
the same. They dier hugely, in size and behaviour
especially. But on the whole, we think of sharks as
being apex predators, and in this position on top of
the food chain they are inadvertently responsible
for maintaining ocean health. If you were to
remove them, you threaten both the health of the
ocean and the ecosystem within it. We believe

that if we can maintain healthy shark populations
we have a better chance of maintaining a healthy
ocean, which has all sorts of benets for us.
Is there anything normal people can do to help
stop sharks dying out?
Yes, anything they can! Supporting shark
conservation is obviously very important, not only
by donating money but also by giving us a voice.
You can get involved in science projects, by going
out and searching for sharks and recording any
sharks that you come across, and even by going
on our egg shell hunts that we run each year in
the UK. You can do this without getting your feet
wet! You can also help by signing shark petitions
and just generally by having a voice. Push for the
policies that will protect sharks in the future.
33
TACKLING SHARK
ATTACKS
Theres no mistaking sharks are precision killing machines its in
their nature to be voracious hunters and its why they have survived
for millions of years. But what if when humans stray into their watery
realm, and sharks simply do what comes naturally? Here are three
particularly gnarly species you want to stay clear of during a dip
34
Tackling shark attacks
Great white shark

The infamous king of sharks
GREAT WHITE SHARK
Able to detect a single drop of blood in 100
litres (25 gallons) of water, the great white
is an incredible hunter. When it comes to
human encounters, this shark holds the
record for the highest number of attacks
a total of 314 incidents since records began
in 1580, although only 80 of these have
resulted in death. Great whites are naturally
curious creatures, and the majority of
attacks are thought to be test bites, where
the shark samples what it thinks to be prey,
but then spits it out again. You can read
more about great white shark attacks and
their hunting techniques on page 48.
Territory Temperate waters

worldwide
Diet Carnivore
Adult weight Up to 3,000kg
(6,600lbs)
Conservation Status
VULNERABLE
Tiger shark
This sh isnt fussy with its food
The tiger sharks isnt known for having a gentle
demeanour, and its hugely varied diet means it will
eat almost anything that crosses its path. Living in
the tropics, this species has been known to use its
razor sharp teeth to tear into sea turtles, stingrays,
sea snakes and even old tyres. On rare occasions,
humans have been added to that list; a total of 31
fatal and 80 non-fatal attacks have been recorded,
putting the tiger shark second only to the great
white when it comes to human threat.
TIGER SHARK
Galeocerdo cuvier
Class Condrichthyes
Territory Tropical and

subtropical waters worldwide
Diet Mostly sh, but has
diverse diet
LifespanUp to 50 years
Adult weight 385-635kg
(850-1,400lbs)
Conservation Status
NEAR THREATENED
35
Bull shark
A cranky character that hangs out in town
Bull sharks are considered to be some of the most dangerous
sharks in the world. They are a particularly aggressive species
and like to live in shallow water, putting them in close range of
populated shoreline areas. Bull sharks can also thrive in freshwater,
and have been known to swim up the Mississippi and Amazon
Rivers. Since records began in 1580, there have been 100
unprovoked bull shark attacks on humans,
21 of which have been fatal.
BULL SHARK
Carcharhinus leucas

subtropical waters
Diet Fish, other sharks, marine
mammals
Adult weight 90-230kg (200500lbs)
Conservation Status
NEAR THREATENED
Why do sharks attack?

Sharks are misunderstood creatures,
and we are visitors to their habitat
Of all the species of sharks that live in our oceans, there
are only a mere dozen that have been involved in
attacks on humans. In 2014, there were 72
unprovoked shark attacks on humans.
Considering the number of people who
swim, snorkel and dive in oceans
worldwide, these attacks are
extremely rare.
The number one offender for
human attacks is the great white.
However, these sharks are naturally
inquisitive and will investigate
anything that they dont recognise
in the water. They use teeth like we
use our hands, to feel something new.
Sharks will not actively hunt or eat
humans because we are too bony for
them to digest. They are likely to only take
an exploratory nibble of humans, and much
prefer to eat seals, which are covered in a layer of
soft blubber.
When it comes to avoiding shark attacks, there are
a few tips to bear in mind. Dont go in the water if you
are bleeding, and make sure to stay in groups, as sharks
are more likely to be attracted to lone swimmers. Avoid
swimming in the early morning and late afternoon,
when the sharks are most likely to be on the hunt for
unsuspecting prey.
36
Tackling shark attacks

5 things that are more likely to kill you than a shark
Being attacked by a shark is a terrifying yet very unlikely prospect. Instead, start worrying about these
Coconut
Around 150 people
each year are killed
by coconuts falling on
their heads thats
30 times more than
annual shark fatalities.
Mosquito
Through the diseases
that it spreads, the
tiny mosquito is
responsible for the
deaths of up to 725,000
people every year
Lightning
The odds of being
struck by lightening are
1 in 300,000, but the
odds of being attacked
by a shark are only 1 in
1.5 million.
Rip Currents
A much greater oceanic
threat is rip currents.
The average number of
deaths from swimmers
getting caught in these
is 21 per year.
In the unlikely event that a shark attacks

you, forget the traditional punch it in the
nose advice punches dont work well
underwater! Your best defence is to jab
the shark in its delicate eyes and gills
using your hands and feet, or better yet
some kind of weapon, to drive it away. If
the shark retreats, swim calmly to safety,
or shout loudly for help. Any thrashing
around in the water could attract the
shark back.
Your best defence is to jab the shark in its

delicate eyes and gills
Getty Images; Corbis; Thinkstock
Snake bite
Poisonous snakes
bite 5.5 million people
each year, resulting in
100,000 human deaths
and a further 300,000
amputations.
What to do if a
shark attacks
37
38
Great white sharks
All About
Great white sharks

A misunderstood giant of the
deep, or a calculated ice-cold
killer? Discover more about
the great whites advanced
adaptations and learn about the
life of this leviathan of the oceans
39
Inside a great white

Get under the skin of these fearsome predators
to see how their bodies have evolved cunning
adaptations for both speed and stealth, placing
them as voracious hunters at the very top of the
oceans food chain
Eyes
The great whites eyes function
rather like a humans and are
highly sensitive to changing
light and colour. When the shark
attacks, it rolls its eyes back to
keep them protected.
Brain
Nostrils
GREAT WHITE SHARK

Territory Throughout most

temperate seas and oceans
Diet Carnivore
Adult weight 2,300kg /
5,070lbs
Conservation status
VULNERABLE
Body temperature
This cold-blooded shark
is able to warm its body
above the heat of the
water temperature, for
more-efcient hunting.
Power bite
The great whites bite
is strengthened and
braced from behind by
a cartilaginous structure
called the hyoid arch, so
that the shark can deliver
a bite of 1.8 tons.
Heart
Pointed teeth
The great whites preference for
seals means the dentition of the
upper jaw is more pointed in
shape, enabling it to impale and
immobilise its catch.
Strong jaw
The upper jaw isnt fused
to the skull, meaning
the shark can thrust it
forwards to trap prey.
JUVENILE
INFANCY
Survival of the ttest 0 months
Even before birth, great white pups
are already voracious predators and
have been know to eat one another
while still in the womb.
40
Liver
With no swim bladder like
other sh, the great whites stay
buoyant in the water thanks to a
large oil-lled liver.
In the shallows 10 minutes

Female great whites give birth
to between ve and ten pups
at once, usually in the safer
shallow waters of coastal seas.
Small white sharks 0-4 years

Great white shark pups are born as
miniature replicas of their parents. Giving
no parental care aer birth, the mother
abandons the pups almost instantly.
MATURITY
Mini killers 4-7 years
Despite their relatively small size,
juvenile great whites are already acute
hunters, feeding on sh, invertebrates
and other smaller marine creatures.
Male sexual maturity 8-9 years

Aer around nine years, when they
measure roughly 3.3 to 4 metres
(11.5 to 13 feet) long, male white
sharks reach sexual maturity.
Collagen
The skin has a layer of collagen
that anchors the swimming
muscles and acts as a kind of
external skeleton.
Skin
The skin is formed of
tiny tooth-like dermal
denticles, providing a
tough armour.
Gills
Five gill slits provide a huge
surface area for absorbing
oxygen from the water.
Fins
The dorsal n along
the back provides
stability, the pectoral
ns give lift and the
caudal n at the end
is used for thrust.
Muscle types
Red muscle is used for
cruising and runs just
underneath the skin,
carrying oxygen from the
gills. White muscle contains
no oxygen and is used for
short bursts of energy.
Neural tube
Skeleton
The skeleton is made of a strong
brous substance called cartilage.
This is much lighter and exible
than bone, enabling the shark
to be supple and save vital
swimming energy.
Intestines
Closest family
Crown tip
Cousins of the great white include
Retractable teeth
The dentition of great
whites is retractable
and teeth rotate into
place when the shark
opens its jaw. They are
attached to pressuresensitive nerve cells for
tactile responses.
Reproduction 9+ years
Not much is known about the great
white mating season. Females will
give birth every two years, having
a year o to recuperate.
Cusplet
Enamel
Crown
Root
Solitary predators 9+ years

Aer mating is concluded, the great whites
will separate to roam the ocean and hunt
alone. They will only congregate again to
copulate and produce the next generation.
Female maturity 14-16 years

Females take longer to mature
than males, but actually grow
much larger up to 4.2 to 4.8
metres (14 to 16 feet).
Mako shark
A fellow member of
the Lamnidae family,
the mako shark
shares many features
with the great white.
At around three
metres (ten feet) in
length, they feed on
cephalopods and
bony sh, with similar
hunting tactics to their
great white relatives.
Dogsh
This creature
belongs to the same
subclass as the
great white sharks,
Elasmobranchii. They
are much smaller
than most shark
species, but still share
some traits, such as a
cartilaginous skeleton
and rough, almost
sandpaper-like skin.
Stingray
Another fellow
elasmobranch is
the stingray. Along
with skates, these
sh belong to the
superorder Batoidea.
They share classic
elasmobranch traits
with great white
sharks and dogsh,
but are attened with
enlarged ns.
41
Impeccable hunting
The anatomy of this killer sh is honed in perfect
harmony with its highly effective hunting methods,
leaving almost nothing safe in the ocean
Diet and feeding

The menu for great whites is varied and wide-ranging
An average male great white
shark eats 30kg
/ 66lbs
of food every ten days.
70% of their
diet consists
of marine
mammals,
such as seals
and sea lions.
Occasionally
they will
supplement
their diet
with sh,
cetaceans
and turtles.
Thats 1.2%
of its total
body weight.
01 Inverted
02 Scope prey
03 Approach
04 Surface charge
Although rarely used, some great

whites have even been observed
swimming upside-down towards
their prey to cause confusion.
Using its amazing array of senses,

a great white shark will stalk its
prey and wait for the opportune
moment to strike.
The shark swims below its quarry,

then shoots upwards with a
powerful burst to incapacitate the
prey in its jaws.
If the prey escapes this rst attack,

the shark follows up with a rapid
rush towards the creature to
confuse and disorientate it.
42
Great white sharks
The importance of hierarchy

Not just colossal hunting machines, great whites have intricate social lives and family bonds
Marine biologists are only scratching the
surface when it comes to understanding how
great whites tick. As solitary sh, theres some
social hierarchy when individuals meet. In areas
with regular populations, large groups gather
at certain times of year. These gatherings arent
fully understood, but coincide with the boom
of seal populations. Around this time, young
great white sharks will hang back from large
kills to let the larger and older sharks take the
lions share. Physical gestures have shown that
body language is also used to communicate.
Most social interaction between great
whites seems to be in order to establish rank,
which in turn helps to avoid conict. Despite

having a reputation for being stone-cold
killers, they arent keen to ght one another.
In terms of hierarchy, the larger the shark, the
higher its rank; similarly, residents come before
newcomers and females before males. When
many sharks gather, competition for prey can
be erce, so the sharks in some areas appear
to reduce conict by respecting boundaries.
When it comes to hunting, ambush is the
method of choice. Hunting behaviour relies on
a potent mix of precision and efciency and
the sharks use their developed brains and keen
senses to hone in on their prey. Using the scent
organs in its snout, a great white can sense

tiny amounts of blood in the water up to ve
kilometres (three miles) away. They have also
been witnessed raising their heads several feet
out of the water, and some think that this is to
get a sniff of scents in the air.
The sharks must keep swimming to stay
alive, moving a ow of water over their gills
to keep oxygen pumping. Its not known how
they sleep, but some have been seen moving
slowly, or even being stationary in gullies. By
facing their heads into the current, theyre able
to catch a breather between mouthfuls as the
water passes into their gills.
43
Epic migrations
Satellite tagging has shown these sh can
travel through miles of open sea
Atlantic journey
This shark, nicknamed Lydia, has shown
the true ability of great whites to swim
vast distances. She headed out into the
open Atlantic and swam over halfway
to Europe.
The urge to migrate

Great whites are thought
to migrate to feed,
coinciding with the
availability and quality
of food in particular
regions. This could also
be to do with mating or
pupping, with the sharks
heading o to nd the
most suitable mate, or the
ideal place to give birth.
Evidence suggests that all
sharks appear to migrate,
but scientists are still
trying to gure out when
and why.
Regular routes
Great whites tagged
between 2000 and
2008 off the coast
of California showed
regular migrations all
the way to Hawaii,
back to California
and in between.
Physiological demands
Although journeys may be erratic, many
sharks are known to migrate from their home
ranges to other areas rich in food. On the
journey its the sharks fatty liver that enables
it to swim marathon distances, but it can
quickly replenish its reserves once it arrives.
Trans-oceanic voyage
A female great white named Nicole
broke great white records when she
swam 11,100 kilometres (6,900 miles) in
99 days from South Africa to Australia.
Solitary life
Born
The baby great whites are much like

their parents in that they swim the
oceans alone.
survivors
How pups are born
with survival instincts
Great white offspring are almost

miniature versions of their parents.
Unlike other creatures, there are no
life cycle stages to undergo for young
great whites. This means that simply
eating plenty to grow fast and reach the
gargantuan size of their fearsome shark
elders is all the little sharks need to do.
With no parental care whatsoever,
shark young come built with all the
instinctual survival knowledge they
need straight out of the womb. Initially
they will feed on small sh and bottomfeeders these are tasty and nutritious
bite-sized morsels for the mini sharks.
At around 1.5 metres (ve feet) long,
the offspring are by no means tiny, but
this small size can make them vulnerable
to larger predators. Though theyre
thrown in at the deep end, learning
to survive in this way helps the young
sharks grow into hardened adults.
44
Prepped and ready

Baby sharks develop their
killer senses in the womb, so
when they are born, theyre
ready to hunt.
Sticking to the shallows

In their rst few weeks, hungry little
great whites mainly stick to shallow
water where meals are plentiful.
Great white sharks
Mating rituals include biting
Shark signals
These slow-growing ocean leviathans keep their

mating secrets closely guarded
Body language is used to

establish social boundaries
Great white sharks reach maturity at around nine

years old for males and 14 years old for females.
When the time comes to nd a mate, its thought
great whites may make long journeys to hang
out in areas where other sharks are looking for
suitable partners. These congregations of great
whites looking for love seem to occur in the
same places each year.
Hormones are believed to play a big part in
shark mating rituals, with each male and female
producing a certain chemical and releasing it
into the water to let members of the opposite
gender know that theyre ready to mate. Some
great whites have even been observed making
constant vertical dives in order to spread this
chemical scent throughout the water column.
Courting behaviour isnt well documented in
great white sharks. They may use their supreme
swimming strength to zoom upwards out of the
water and crash back down onto the sea surface
with a huge splash, known as a pattern breach,
as a mating display. A breeding couple may
also swim in circles around each other a little to
establish themselves before the male bites the
female. This bite may be to signal to her that he
is ready, or it may have a more practical use, in
that a bite will keep the pair together. As great

white sharks have to keep swimming constantly
to maintain the oxygen ow over their gills, a bite
may be the helping hand the male needs in order
to fertilise the female.
Fertilisation is internal for great whites and the
male has special appendages known as claspers
on his underbelly, modications of his pelvic ns
that he uses to inject his sperm and fertilise the
females eggs. Once fertilised, the female swims
off and the male has no further part to play.
Great whites, like many shark species, are
ovoviviparous, which means they give birth to
live young. The females fertilised eggs hatch
out within the womb and the young baby great
whites will eat any unfertilised eggs, providing
them with a source of much-needed nutrients.
This can also go a step further and unborn great
white young have been known to eat their own
brothers and sisters while still in the womb.
Although its not fully documented, marine
biologists generally think that gestation for great
whites is around a year. The mother will give
birth in shallow water, but then immediately swim
away and leave her pups to fend for themselves
as soon as they are born.
After swimming
circles around each
other, the male
bites the female as
a signal to her that
he is ready
Parallel swim
Two great whites swim slowly side by
side to size each other up and establish
rank, or settle ownership of a kill. Smaller
sharks will submit and swim away.
Swim by
This behaviour consists of a slow swim
past each other, a few feet apart. It may
be used to identify each other, or to
establish which shark ranks highest.
Hunch display
This posture is assumed when faced
with a dominant shark and usually
comes before either eeing or attacking.
Splashing
A splash ght is quite rare to see
between two sharks, but usually
determines ownership of a kill. The rules
are simple the biggest splash wins.
Circling
Great whites swim around each other in
a circle to identify rank.
45
King of the oceans

These majestic sharks live in oceans across the
world, usually gathering in the shallower waters of
the continental slopes. Their principal habitat is the
Pelagic zone the upper part of the water column
where light is still in plentiful supply. The sharks
will usually stay wherever food can be found, so
make their homes near coastal areas populated by
plenty of seals and sea lions.
Areas where deep water is close to the shore
are favourite haunts, as are offshore reefs, banks,
shoals and rocky headlands. These sharks also
like to cruise around seamounts and island
archipelagos, looking for food or mates depending
on the location and time of year. Many will make
long migrations each year to visit feeding or
breeding grounds.
Great whites spend most of their time near the

surface, but have been known to dive to around
1,875 metres (6,151 feet) in open oceans. Because
of their preference to be close to the shore,
they have often clashed with humans, earning
themselves a reputation as murderous thugs. This
is unfair on the sharks, however, as most attacks
are mere cases of mistaken identity.
There are hot spots of shark activity across
the world, with greater concentrations of great
whites off the coasts of South Africa, Australia
and California. Theyre also found along the coast
of Hawaii, most of South America, the Gulf coast,
New Zealand and the Mediterranean Sea. Great
whites rarely venture into icy waters but some are
spotted on the Alaskan and Canadian coasts.
Environmental factors
Alamy, Corbis, Getty, NPL, Thinkstock,
Michael HJC, Jim E Margos, G W Sharks
Life in the sea has issues even for these mighty ocean rulers
46
Commercial sheries
Great whites can fall victim to
bycatch from the shing industry.
The creatures are oen trapped and
killed in nets intended to catch other
sh for humans to eat.
Poachers
Despite their protection, great
white sharks are targeted to make
shark-n soup, a supposed oriental
delicacy. Poachers cut o the ns
and throw the animals back.
Shark nets
Designed to cordon o coastal areas
and make them safe for humans
to swim in, these colossal nets can
entangle and kill sharks, as well as
other marine life.
Changing climates
Its not easy to predict the aect
climate change may have, but
alterations in climate may inuence
prey distribution, which in turn
could aect the great whites.
Great white sharks
Why sharks should

be left alone
Great whites and humans have shared a chequered past.
Their fearsome features, gigantic size and erce array of teeth,
alongside ctional lms such as Jaws, have painted a rather poor
picture of these misunderstood sh. Although shark bites do
happen, they are very rare. In 2013 there were 53 unprovoked
shark attacks in the USA, two of which were fatal. Compared
with the amount of people in America who swam in the sea
throughout the year, that number is very small.
The truth is that sharks dont want to eat us. We arent fatty
enough for their nutritional needs and we have too many bones
to digest. Shark attacks on humans dont usually conform to
the usual hunting strategy of the great white ambushing and
rushing the prey from beneath. If they really did believe we were
their food, shark attacks would probably be much more common.
Despite this, shark culls to protect public safety are in effect in
some areas of the world. For example, in Western Australia shark
culls began in January 2014 and more are expected to happen
after the region was given an exemption from the Environment
Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act to kill great white
sharks. As this species are so slow to reproduce and grow, culling
could have catastrophic impact on breeding populations of these
majestic animals.
Nearest
neighbours
The great white shares its ocean
home with countless other
amazing marine species
Coral
Forming massive oshore reefs,
the great white is a frequent visitor
to these ecosystems. Coral is made
up of tiny invertebrate animals that
live in colonies and secrete a hard,
calcium-carbonate skeleton.
Squid
A Pelagic dweller alongside the great
white, squid species live in the top
layers of the ocean right down to the
depths. They move by jet-propulsion
from their siphon, reaching up to 40
kilometres (25 miles) per hour.
Their fearsome
features have helped
paint an undeservingly
negative picture of a
misunderstood sh
Seals
The favourite meal of the great
white, seals, alongside sea lions
and walruses, live on shorelines
across the world and are full of fatty,
blubbery goodness just how the
sharks like it.
In our culture
Sharks have captured many imaginations, cropping
up in blockbuster lms and even sports
Jaws
Responsible for many peoples
shark fears, Steven Spielbergs
1975 thriller follows the story of a
killer shark on the loose around
the beach resort of Amity Island.
Bruce in Disney Pixars

Finding Nemo
Finding Nemo went some way to
portray great whites in a better
light, with Bruces mantra being
sh are friends, not food.
The Devils Teeth

by Susan Casey
This aims to tell the truth about
the great whites of Californias
Farallon Islands, as well as the
scientists studying them.
Symbol of strength
The shark tooth has long been
used as a symbol of male
strength and masculinity
shark tooth necklaces came to
prominence during the 1970s.
Bony sh
The great whites share their watery
realm with thousands of species of
bony sh from ocean-going giants,
shoals of tiddlers along the shore
and brightly coloured exotic species
teeming in the reefs.
47
GREAT WHITE SHARK

Territory Throughout most

temperate seas and oceans
Diet Carnivore
5,070lbs
Conservation status
VULNERABLE
48
Great white sharks

Victims of myth and
mankinds myopia,
discover the truth behind
the hunting habits of
these colossal killers
Older seals know what lies in the murky depths of the

ocean. They keep watch from the rocks, looking for telltale signs of danger a ash of n or a tail but even the
worlds largest predatory sh can go undetected if it lurks
just a few metres below the surface. Its tough to conceal
the immense size of a fully grown adult great white shark,
but the low-light conditions of the ocean depths and
the grey body that blends in with the rocky reef habitat
helps its cause. Its infamous name comes from its white
underbelly, which will be on full display soon enough.
When the great white senses an opening, it forgoes
stealth for full-blown ambush mode. Torpedoing vertically
through the water at n-tastic speeds of up to
49

kilometres per hour (25 miles per hour), the velocity
launches both shark and seal clear of the water in whats
known as a Polaris Attack. With jaws opening wide, the
predator tries to catch its prey but this meal brings a
whole new meaning to the term fast food. Seals have
agility on their side and will attempt a zig-zag manoeuvre
in a bid for freedom, but death comes quick this time.
Rows and rows of serrated teeth bear down on the
blubbery esh, as its shaken violently from side to side
and, within minutes, the seals inanimate body is sliding
down the sharks throat, whole.
In that rst bite, the great white sharks sensitive taste
buds can assess the energy content of its prey to see if its
palatable. Fat and blubber are energy-rich food that sharks
need to feast on, which has been proven in an experiment
where sharks were tempted with carcasses of seals, pigs
and sheep. The great white attacked all three but rejected
the sheep, indicating fat is required to meet the high
energy demands of a great white. Too low, and it wont be
worth the effort (and energy) of attacking.
When chasing prey, their streamlined bodies and
powerful tails propel them through the water with ease,
while their ns enable them to have effective control over
their movement. The crescent-shaped caudal ns at the
end of a sharks body is the main propulsive structure,
while the pectoral ns (on its sides) are for turning and
braking and the infamous dorsal n, which can be seen
poking out the water, is crucial for keeping it upright. Its
warmer body temperature (see page 30) sharpens its
sight and boosts brain activity. It gives this daytime hunter
an advantage while up against prey that are not only
Despite what Hollywood would have us

believe, were far too bony and lacking
the essential nutrition a shark needs for
a hearty meal
clever, but also equally adept swimmers. In addition to
seals, it also eats dolphins and whales, but smaller juveniles
will feast on tuna, seabirds and even sea turtles.
Notice how humans arent on the menu? Despite what
Hollywood would have us believe, were far too bony and
lacking the essential nutrition a shark needs for a hearty
meal and, after a sample bite, it usually spits out its victim.
But unfortunately for sharks, and the occasional swimmer,
a wetsuit-clad human on the surface of the water closely
resembles its normal prey. Add a surfboard to the
equation and the silhouette is uncannily like a sharks
favourite dish, particularly when they are in the vicinity of
their normal prey. However, once the shark has realised
its error, its usually too late and the victim will have been
claimed by blood loss or drowning. This man-eating image
has largely been blamed on the 1975 movie Jaws, which
portrayed them as indiscriminate killers. While a shark
attack is a potential danger in marine waters, its worth
putting this risk into perspective. As the Florida Museum
LEFT Seabirds
are occasionally
on the menu of
younger sharks,
though would be
too scrawny for
larger adults
Why they
dont eat
humans
Though we fear them,
were not nutritional
enough for a shark
Attacks on humans are
extremely rare; in fact,
youre more likely to get
hurt on your way to the
beach than you are to get
bitten by a great white
shark. Whats more, its
even rarer for the attack
to be fatal. In 2014, of the
72 reported shark attacks
worldwide only three were
lethal. Our muscle content
means we dont make a
substantial meal for a great
white, which needs plenty
of energy that blubbery
mammals like seals oer.
Thank you for not eating me!

During a surng event, Mick Fanning had a very close call when a
great white shark misstook him for a tasty treat
It was a gorgeous day at the J-Bay Open in South Africa, the waves were
rolling in perfectly, and professional surfer Mick Fanning was at the top of his
game. What could possibly ruin this picture? The daunting image of a shark n
emerging out of the water behind Fanning.
In one of the most harrowing 30 seconds in live television, viewers watched
as Fanning struggled with the shark and disappeared behind a wave.
Lifeguards feared the worst and hurried to his presumed location with jetskis.
The audience, including Fannings family and friends, were relieved when the
next shot showed Fanning safe on a jetski. But what happened underwater?
Well, apparently one of the most impressive showdowns between man and
shark. Fanning described being dragged down by the great white and in true
ght or ight fashion punched the shark in the nose. The few punches he
managed to throw were eective, as it confused the shark enough for Fanning
make his quick getaway and get onboard the jetski. When asked what hed do
if faced with the shark again, he said hed say: Thank you for not eating me!
50
Great white sharks
The great white in numbers

20-30 03
25 05-07
mph
The speed a
shark can reach
prior to an attack
to pursue and
catch its prey.
The rows of
teeth ready to
move into a
frontal position
when one is lost
or broken.
48
Shark surface
attacks that
actually result in
successful kills.
YEARS
The average
lifespan of a
great white in
the wild.
tons
How much a
great white can
weigh up to.
06 300 CM
25-30
metres
How long they
can grow.
The number of
teeth a shark can
have in its mouth
at any one time.
The amount
a great white
grows per year.
A great white can smell a seal colony from 2 miles away
ABOVE Propelling itself at speeds of

up to 25 miles per hour, the sharks
Polaris Attack is sudden and deadly
BELOW Breaching is a technique
employed frequently by great whites
when hunting surface-dwelling prey
of Natural History points out, bees, wasps and snakes are

responsible for far more fatalities every year and, in the
United States, up to 30-times more deaths occur as a
result of lightning strikes per year than from shark attacks.
In reality, great whites have more in common with
human serial killers than the boat-bashing, mindless
opportunists of the Steven Spielberg movies. Far from
killing at random, a study has shown sharks will nd a
good hiding spot and return to it time and again, watching
specic victims from afar until an opening presents itself.
The crucial difference, however, is the motive a shark
kills purely to eat and survive. As part of the research

conducted by Neil Hammerschlag of the University
of Miami, Florida, geographic proling (a police tool
for analysing serial crime) was used to observe shark
behaviour at Seal Island in False Bay, South Africa. Named
for its dense Cape fur seal population, this is one instance
where safety in numbers doesnt apply. A great white can
smell a seal colony from over three killometres (two miles)
away thanks to its super-sensitive snout thats covered in
sensory cells. It can even hone in on faint electrical signals
from hearts and gills. If youre a living creature in the
ocean, there really is nowhere to hide.
These nely tuned senses are driven into a bloodthirsty frenzy when this many ippers are found in one
place, making Seal Island a prime spot for studying great
white attacks. But rather than waiting where the seals
congregate, Hammerschlags investigation found that
larger, older sharks have well-dened anchor points, 100
metres (328 feet) from the seals entry-exit point. Its not
an ideal location for snatching prey, but he suspects its
a balance between prey-detection, capture rates and
competition. They attacked early in the morning when
the light was low, when no other sharks are around and
they preferred victims that were young and alone. Smaller
sharks, on the other hand, didnt have such distinct lairs
and had lower success rates, suggesting either sharks
rene their strategy with experience, or the larger
specimens are purposefully excluding them from the
It can even hone in on

faint electrical signals from
hearts and gills. If youre a
living creature in the ocean,
there really is nowhere
to hide
Sharks eye view

Theres no reason for sharks to see us as their
natural prey, so why do attacks occur? One
theory is mistaken identity. Scientists have
noticed that most incidents happened when
water conditions were poor, so the shark may
have confused a swimmer with their regular
food. Another reason could be that these apex
predators have nothing to fear, leading them
to be incredibly curious. However, theres no
way of knowing for certain what an unknown
object is without a sample bite.
Human surfer
Sea turtle
Seal
51

hunting hot spots. University of Florida shark
researcher George Burgess sums it up best:
Sharks are like many other predators that have
developed patterns to their attacking, which are
obviously benecial as a species.
Sharks have been patrolling the oceans for
about 450 million years and its believed that
the great white is an ancient relative of one of
the deadliest killers the ocean has ever known
the Megalodon. This giant clocked in at 17
metres (55 feet) and weighed 25 tons, with a
mouth that could swallow ve adult humans in
one gulp. But as these monsters began to die
out, the mammals we know today dolphins,
whales, seals began to ourish and became a
veritable blubber buffet for the shark. The great
white is a true survivor, evolving to become the
most formidable predator of the ocean today.
Just like its terrifying ancestors, the grite
whites only real weapon is the toothy grin.
Inside those gaping jaws are several rows of
triangular, serrated blades that are typically
over seven centimetres (three inches) long.
The top set are broader, designed for tearing
through chunks of esh and bone, while the
thinner lower teeth grip onto the prey to hold
it in place. This enables the great white to feast
on carcasses that would be too big to swallow
whole. Feasting solely on meat, the great white
doesnt need grinders for chewing on plants, so
every chopper is sharp and pointed. Whenever
a tooth is lost or broken there are several rows
of teeth behind it, ready to move into position,
as they are attached by cartilage rather than

bone. This happens so frequently that a shark
can have over 300 teeth in its mouth at any one
time - crucial for a successful killer.
Its not only the teeth that make a sharks bite
truly fearsome though, as they have a unique
structure where the upper jaw is not attached
to the skull, like a human mouth. Like other
sharks, the great whites jaw is held in place by
connective tissue so the entire mouth can thrust
outward from the head in order to latch onto its
prey, and this bite force has been estimated at
an unbelievable 4,000 pounds per square inch.
Generally, the species is a grey, brown
or blue colour that blends in with the water
and rocks, making it tricky to spot from
above. When viewed from the side, the great
whites universally white underbelly (known
as countershading) makes the outline difcult
to dene. The unique skin texture is also
part of sharks secret to sneaking up on prey
undetected. Unlike regular sh scales, their
skin is covered in at, v-shaped scales called
dermal denticles (tiny skin teeth) that would feel
smooth if you were to stroke a shark from head
to tail, but rough if rubbed the other way. These
denticles are lightweight, reducing drag and
enabling the shark to swim faster and preserve
energy, as well as decreasing water turbulence
from swimming. This makes the shark a silent
assassin, giving enormous advantages.
Designed for stealth and built for the kill,
the shark is also extremely intelligent and
will tailor its tactics depending on the prey.

While the ambush works for Cape fur seals in
South Africa, when faced with the much larger
elephant seal off California, the great white
aims to bite the hindquarters to stop the seal
in its tracks and then waits while its victim
bleeds to death. Smaller harbour seals, however,
are grabbed from the surface and dragged
underwater until they give up the struggle.
California sea lions are talented swimmers and
are typically attacked from below, hit mid-body
and then hauled to the depths. Dolphins present
a trickier kill, though, as they are wisely cautious
of the great white and have echolocation to
boot, so the shark attempts to go undetected
by striking from above, behind or below.
Cunning and clever, the great white shark
is the apex predator of the ocean, and yet the
IUCN lists the great white as Vulnerable. Trophy
shing and the commercial shing industry
are to blame for the decline in numbers, but
without this remarkable species, the oceans
would suffer. This is because great whites dont
just devour healthy prey, they also scavenge
on weak, injured and even dead creatures
too, performing a crucial role in keeping the
ocean clean. The great white ensures that
other species are kept tter and stronger by
eliminating the weak and feeding on animals
such as seals and whales that have few
predators. Its survival of the ttest and the
great white shark is a shining example that we
should strive to protect.
The great white is an

ancient relative of one of
the deadliest killers the
ocean has ever known
Eyes shut
Seals can cause damage to
sharks eyes, so they will roll
them back into their head
when attacking, to prevent
them from losing their sight.
Open wide
A sharks jaws are not
connected to the skull,
enabling them to thrust
forward when the prey
is within reach.
Surprise attack
The great whites boost
their chances of success
by launching a vertical
charge from the depths
to surprise their target.
52
Great white sharks
How a seal escapes

Giving chase
These smaller marine creatures are highly agile and will attempt to throw
the shark o their tail by performing a zig-zagging motion through the
ocean. The shark will attempt to pursue the prey across the surface but
the longer the chase, the more chance the victim has of escaping.
The impact
The great white will aim to kill or at least injure the prey on impact by
using the breach method. If the shark fails to capture the target in its
jaws, however, then marine mammals such as seals, dolphins and whales
stand a good chance of giving the shark the slip.
Quick questions with

an expert
Name: Richard Ellis
Role: Marine biologist
Organisation: Various
You were
friends with
the late Peter Benchley,
author of Jaws. How did he feel
about the publics reaction?
He would send me the dra
copies of his future manuscript
and I would say to him: This
is nonsense, sharks dont eat
people, and he would say It
doesnt matter, Im writing
ction. It was hardly his
intention to initiate a vendetta
against sharks, but he ended up
doing just that. Everyone saw
the movie and thought the only
good shark was a dead shark.
Later in his life he became a
dedicated conservationist of
sharks, but the damage was
already done.
Aer Jaws, there were attempts
to keep great whites in captivity.
Can you tell us about Sandy?
Sandy was the rst great white
to be put on exhibition and
she drew tens of thousands of

people to see the man-eater.
Aquariums wouldnt sh for
them, but if a shark was trapped
accidentally then it could be
rehabilitated before being set
free. Sandy refused to eat,
though, and she kept bumping
into a particular area of the tank
because it turned out there was
an electrical leak. They only kept
her for a few days before putting
her back in the ocean.
What fascinates
you most about the great white?
How beautiful they are. As a
child, I liked drawing planes
because theyre powerful, fast
and well-designed and this is an
animal that fulls many of these
specications. Then I researched
them and realised how little we
knew, so the rst book I wrote
was called The Book of Sharks,
which attempted to identify the
truth about these creatures.
Alamy; FLPA; Thinkstock; apexpredators.com
Could you tell us about your rst

up-close encounter with a great
white shark?
It was 1985 when I went in a
cage with great white sharks
in south Australia as part of
an assignment for National
Geographic. At this time the
movie Jaws had come out and
in the lm the shark breaks
through the bars, so the rst
time you experience the shark in
a cage like that, youre terried.
Aer a while you realise
the shark is just curious, it
might even bite on the cage
bars, not because its trying to
bite through them, but rather
because the metal gives o
an electrical current, which
sharks are attracted to. The
whole operation was arranged
by Rodney Fox who was one
of the rst major victims of the
great white, having nearly been
bitten in half in 1963. It took over
400 stitches to put him back
together, but he was back in the
water within six weeks.
Everyone saw the movie and thought

the only good shark was a dead shark
53
Secret powers of an intellectual ocean beast that uses

every part of its body as a powerful weapon not least
its bizarre elongated face
54
Hammerhead sharks
Meet the
expert
DEAN FESSLER
Education ocer
Shark Research Institute
www.sharks.org
Divemaster and
shark researcher
Dean Fessler has
been working at
the Shark Research Institute
(SRI) for over 20 years and
has performed research
across the globe. The
institute has eld oces in 11
dierent countries and they
work to track sharks, study
their DNA and behaviour
and educate the public about
shark conservation.
Sensitive touch
Blood detection
Electroreception
360 vision
Discerning taste
Sensing pressure
55
Sensitive touch
Shark skin can detect much more
than a simple touch, it can recognise a
temperature change of as little as 0.1
degrees Celsius. Sharks use this sense
to navigate to fronts of cold water
which are nutrient-rich upwellings that
attract prey. They can then track prey
by following cold currents.
Despite being so sensitive, shark
skin is still very tough. Rather than
being covered in rounded scales like

other sh, sharks have pointed scales
called denticles that are only 0.01
millimetres wide. These are toothshaped and offer the shark important
protection from their predators, as
well as streamlining its body. This
combination of armour and sensitivity
helps the shark maintain its brilliant
predatory advantage.
Blood detection
The hammerhead sharks sense of smell is one of the
most important in their arsenal, and a shark is able to
detect just a teaspoon of blood in an Olympic-sized
swimming pool.
Hammerhead sharks achieve this amazing sensitivity
by having two nasal cavities called nares, which each
have an entry and exit openings. Inside the nares are
a maze of chambers lined with skin folds covered
with the all-important scent detectors. The cells that
decipher smells send this information to the brain,
where the shark decides what course of action
they should take.
Two thirds of a hammerheads brain weight is
dedicated to decoding smells, making them some of
the most advanced sniffers in the sea.
Nasal cavity
Sharks have one of the best senses of
smell of any ocean animal
Scent- detecting cells

Blood
Skin folds
Nerves
Tail
The powerful tail is heterocercal
(asymmetric), giving the hammerhead
shark an edge as it turns quickly and
beats the powerful tail to swim at a top
speed of 40 kilometres per hour (25 miles
per hour).
Streamlined
The torpedo shape of the
sharks body is the ultimate
in streamlining technology
and helps propel the
hammerhead through the
water. It is this hydrodynamic
shape that inspired the shape
of aeroplanes.
56
Sense of smell is one of the most

important, and a shark is able to
detect just a teaspoon of blood in
an Olympic-sized swimming pool
Hammerhead sharks
Electroreception
The face is covered with tiny black spots called the
ampullae of Lorenzini, which detect electric elds in the
water according to Fessler. Theyre open pores lled
with electrically conductive material.
The ampullae contain a jelly-like substance
which vibrates when an electrical signal is
detected. The base of the pore is covered
with tiny hair-like cilia, which respond to
changes in electrical currents. Just like the hairs
in a human ear detect the direction and volume of
sound, the sharks cilia can distinguish tiny changes in
electric currents.
The ampullae can pick up electrical signals from
muscle contractions of prey, he continues. A great
hammerhead shark has over 3000 receptive
pores, making them masters
of electroreception.
In low light a
hammerhead
shark can see 10
times better than
a human could
Teeth
The sharp serrated
teeth of a hammerhead
are constantly growing to replace
any that become embedded in
prey, and new teeth move forward
like a deadly conveyer belt.
360 vision
Hammerhead sharks have brilliant
360-degree vision. Shark vision is very
good, explains Fessler. They are able
to scan over 180 degrees with a single
eye, which means the visual elds of
both eyes overlap. This wide spacing
of the eyes comes at a cost, however.
Hammerhead sharks eyes are spaced

so far apart, they have larger blind spots
in front of them than other sharks
continues Fessler. Behind the retina are
mirrored crystals called the tapetum
lucidum, and when light hits this layer of
crystals it is reected several times.
Inside a sharks eye

Sharks have an extra layer at the back of their
eyes that helps with night vision
Fins
The dorsal and pectoral ns of the shark slice
through the water acting as natural rudders and
stop the hammerhead from rolling sideways or
pitching forwards when in pursuit of prey.
Tapetum
A layer of crystals reects light
towards the rods and cones to
assisit with low light conditions
Cornea
Light enters
though the
cornea
Light
Face
The hammerheads wide T-shaped face
helps it turn quickly in the water, and
the large surface area is packed with
electroreceptors, making it the most
successful detector of electric currents.
Rods and cones

Light sensitive cells send
signals to the brain
Retina skin
57
Using taste
A hammerheads sense of taste isnt as well-developed
because their other senses do most of the work. Once the
shark has seen or smelled the prey the shark has to give it
a good chew to discover exactly what it tastes like. Sharks
do have taste buds, but they can only detect avour once
the item is inside the mouth and items that are foul-tasting
will be spat out. This has been demonstrated by sea otter
carcasses that are found oating out at sea that exhibit
bite marks. Sharks dont eat the otters, they simply have
a taste and discard them. This also explains why many
victims of shark attacks survive, as sharks bite before
realising that a human is not suitable meal.
Sharks do have taste buds, but

they can only detect avour once
the item is inside the mouth, and
items that are foul-tasting will be
spat out
Cupula
Sensing water pressure
58
line is made up of pores formed

by modied scales and hair cells
explains Fessler. These open into
a canal just below the skin surface.
Between the pores is a gelatinous
mass called the cupula. As water
ows past this, it causes it to bend
modied hair cells located within
a sensory patch under the cupula,
ring off a series of nervous
impulses. Information sent to
the brain tells the shark what is
happening, even in darkness.
How sharks
skin sensory
organs work
Water
owing
Lines of cells along

the sharks sides turn
motion in the water
into information about
where their prey is.
Sense
hair
Nerve
Brain
Alamy, Nature Picture Library, Thinkstock
Sharks have lateral lines, Fessler

tells us. This lateral line works
by detecting changes in water
pressure and direction similar
to the way human skin can feel
or detect wind or changes in air
direction. All sh species have
long grooves down their sides,
made of receptive cells called
neuromasts. These cells sense
minute changes in water pressure
and help build a mental picture
of their environment. The lateral
Hammerhead sharks
Hammerheads
size up prey before
taking a bite
59
King of the sharks
Whale shark
The largest living sh is the whale shark,

which reaches an average length of just
under 10 metres (33 feet). The largest
conrmed individual measured a huge
12.65 metres (41.5 feet) and weighed
21,320 kilograms (47,000 pounds), with
unconrmed reports of even larger sh.
The whale shark has thousands of teeth,
each of which is two millimetres (0.08
inches) in length, arranged in around 300
rows pointing backward into its mouth.
But they are not used for hunting. The
whale shark is actually a lter feeder. As
it swims along, it opens its wide, square
mouth, taking in water and ltering it
through a series of cartilaginous spines
that cover its gills. They act as a sieve,
extracting zooplankton like krill, jellysh
and crustaceans.
It might seem unusual that the largest
sh in the sea would eat some of the
smallest life forms, but the second largest
sh, the basking shark, is also a lter
feeder, as are many large whales. Schools
of sh are often hard to nd but eating the
abundant microscopic ocean life enables
whale sharks to survive on little food.
Like many other large species, the whale
shark takes a long time to mature, so it
consequently has a long life span. They do
not reach adulthood until the age of 30,
and it is thought that they might live to be
100 years old, although this has not yet
been proven.
WHALE SHARK
Rhincodon typus
Territory Tropical oceans of

the Southern Hemisphere
Diet Plankton
Lifespan 70-100 years
Adult weight 20.6 tons
Conservation Status
Friendly sh
This shark is a docile
animal, and can safely be
approached and touched
by divers, as is shown here.
VULNERABLE
As it swims, it opens its wide

mouth, taking in water and
ltering it through cartilaginous
spines that cover its gills
60
Whale sharks
Late bloomers
Whale sharks take a long
time to grow to their full
size, nally reaching up to
10m (33) at the age of 30.
Weight
How big?
1 whale shark = 6 family cars
How does it compare to

other types of shark?
Whale shark 12m (46ft)
Basking shark 10m (33ft)
Great white shark 7m (23ft)
Toothpick teeth
A whale shark has an
average of 3,000 vestigial
teeth, which have no use in
its lter feeding habits.
Alamy
Megamouth shark 4.6m (15ft)
Nurse shark 4m (13ft)
61
Spotters guide
WHALE SHARK
Rhincodon typus
Whale shark
Despite being the largest sh in the sea, the
whale shark can be difcult to spot, but this
expert guide will help those seeking a sighting
Between May and September, whale sharks
ock to the coasts of Mexico
to feed and spend up to eight hours a
day feeding at the waters surface. They can
be seen along the eastern Gulf Coast as well as
the west Pacic Coast, but the best place is Isla
Mujeres off the coast of Cancun.
Whale sharks dont splash or blow like whales
and dolphins, so they can be incredibly tricky to
spot. The tell-tale sign of a whale shark are its
ns. The dorsal n and tail can break the waters
surface when the shark is feeding, so spotters
should look out for two parallel ns gliding
through the water.
If you want to guarantee a whale shark
sighting, the best thing to do is book a boat
tour rather than heading out alone. The guides
have years of experience and know the best
areas to check. Whale sharks are known to feed
in deep water so its safest to have experienced

guides to help you locate and even swim with
these enormous sharks.
They swim at speeds of only one metre
per second (two miles per hour), so keeping
up with them isnt a problem. Its important
that spotters dont use ash photography or
touch the animals whale sharks are listed as
vulnerable on the IUCN red list so they should
not be disturbed or fed.
Its essential to take waterproof sun cream,
plenty of water to drink and a waterproof
camera if you have one. Some tour operators
even take photos and lms for visitors, so
you can just enjoy your experience. Most tour
companies will provide masks, snorkels and ns,
but you can use your own kit if you have it. It is
worth investing in a long-sleeved rash guard to
keep the sun off your skin.
See them yourself

A pick of the tours to see this underwater beauty
Cancun Whale Shark Tours
www.cancunwhalesharktours.com
CWST are dedicated to preserving
whale sharks and a percentage of tour
money funds conservation eorts.
EcoColours Tours
www.ecotravelmexico.com
With door-to-door chaueuring,
customer service is a high priority
and whale shark sightings are a
daily occurrence.
Where you can see whale sharks

Whale sharks live in tropical waters across the globe, but every year
they are drawn to the coasts of Mexico like magnets.
Holbox Whale Shark Tours
www.holboxwhalesharktours.com
Departing from tranquil Holbox Island
rather than the hustle of Cancun,
customers get a laid-back experience.
Ocean Tours Mexico
www.oceantoursmexico.com
Customers get their money back
if whale sharks arent spotted, and
visitors can see dolphins and turtles
along the way.
Ceviche Tours
www.cevichetours.com
Visitors can take a private tour with all
refreshments included to make the
trip truly magical.
62
Cancun
MEXICO
Territory Tropical oceans of

the Southern Hemisphere
Diet Plankton
Adult weight 20.6 tons
Conservation Status
VULNERABLE
Whale sharks
Quick questions with
a whale shark tour guide
Roddrigo Sidney operates Cancun Whale Shark Tours
(www.cancunwhalesharktours.com) and helps promote conservation
When is the best time of year to spot
whale sharks?
The whale sharks congregate in
the waters near Cancun every year
from late May through to September.
The best action is usually found
approximately 20 miles oshore
from Cancun. Its here where the
whale sharks will come to feed on
krill and plankton.
What are the chances of seeing a
whale shark o the coast of Mexico?
We guarantee sightings from June
to the end of August, and prime time
is July and August when there are
normally 200 whale sharks present.
Can you nd whale sharks on your
own or should you seek help from
a specialist?
Looking for whale sharks is
strictly regulated by the Mexican
government and only approved
licensed tour operators are
allowed to take visitors out to see
whale sharks.
What should whale shark spotters
wear, and what equipment
should they take on
a trip?
We provide all the required gear, but

some participants bring their own
personal snorkel gear. We provide
each guest with a mask, ns, snorkel
and life jacket or optional wet suit.
We also have an in water guide with
each pair of swimmers.
Can spotters expect a close
encounter with a whale shark?
Yes, really close. Its like swimming
alongside a bus. People describe it
as the most exciting thing theyve
ever done. We do, however, have
strict rules of engagement with no
touching of the whale sharks and
snorkellers have to keep a minimum
one metre (three foot) distance.
What impact does whale shark
tourism have on their behaviour
and wellbeing?
There is ongoing research into the
impact of tourism on whale sharks,
and the results so far suggest that
if the current tour operators follow
the rules there is minimal impact.
Obviously having no interaction is the
best scenario. However, the industry
has grown into a lucrative tourist
industry so visitors should only go
with a reputable company.
People describe [swimming with

whale sharks] as the most exciting
thing theyve ever done
63
Alamy; Dreamstime
Whale sharks travel

in style with groups of
remoras that cling on
for a li
Prehistoric
sharks
Get ready for the bone-chilling
ancestors of modern sharks
The waters of prehistoric Earth were as wild and exotic as the land, so
few creatures survive that can claim a lineage that goes back as far as
sharks. Their design has been so successful that the ancestors of the
rst sharks still thrive today, 350 million years later, having endured
several extinction events and outlived the dinosaurs. Here are ve of
their most interesting evolutionary checkpoints along the way.
Megalodon
The mega-mouth of the ancient world
The fossilised teeth from this fearsome giant of prehistoric waters are so big that
up until the seventeenth century, they were thought to be dragon tongues, turned
to stone! Megalodon had a similar biting style to modern day great whites, but it was much, much bigger. The reason for
its enormous size? Unlike modern sharks, Megalodon hunted the biggest prey in the ocean cetaceans like whales that
were much more numerous millions of years ago. Compression damage in the vertebrae of Megalodon suggests that it
could have attacked from below, slamming into the whales body and stunning it, before dealing the killing bite.
Stethacanus
The anvil-nned tiddler
Some of the ancient ancestors of modern sharks are real curiosities, like
Stethacanus: at around half a metre (1.6 feet) long, youd hardly swim
for your life if you encountered it today, but you might pause to
consider its odd-looking dorsal n. Protruding from its back in
the shape of a large anvil, it was covered in small spikes, and
was thought to reduce drag in the water and allow Stethacanus
to swim more efciently. A pair of tendrils trailed from the rear of
its pectoral ns and males of the species had larger spikes, but no one
knows exactly what their purpose was. Stethacanus had similar feeding habits
to modern sharks, eating the sh and cephalopods (such as squid) of the era.
530mya ~ First Fish appear
250mya ~ Mother of mass extinctions
During an era known as the

Cambrian explosion, when most
animals rst appeared, jawless sh
evolved to dominate the seas.
An extinction event even bigger than the one

that killed the dinosaurs happened around
this time, which killed 99 per cent of marine
life. Sharks survived it.
350mya ~ First sharks evolve

Nearly 200 million years of evolution
later, a weak-jawed and small but
successful design for sharks is
established in the form of Cladoselache.
64
231-66mya
~ Dinosaurs lived and died
The dinosaurs arose, ruled and died
during this period but once again, sharks
survived the extinction event.
Prehistoric sharks
RIGHT
These fossilised
remains of Helicoprions
teeth look remarkably
like an ammonite.
Helicoprion
Saw-toothed mystery shark
Helicoprion is a real oddity of the ancient ocean and has bafed palaeontologists for over a
century. The point of confusion is its mouth, which doesnt conform to any modern standard
at all. The structure considered to be its bottom jaw consists of a single blade of teeth that
curve around like a circular saw what is now known as its tooth-whorl. Fossils of its jaw were
understandably thought to be an exotic kind of ammonite at rst, before being
recognised as an appendage of the ancient shark. The lack of wear
the fossil suggests that the saw-jaw could have been used
to cut through prey like sh and octopus.
Edestus
Fossils of its jaw were

understandingly
thought to be an
exotic ammonite
Serrated, scissor-mouthed terror

Its no real surprise that Edestus belongs to the same family as the bizarre
Helicoprion: it was a similar shape, grew to a similar size of around six
metres (19 feet) long and possessed an equally strange set of gnashers. The
teeth in both its top and bottom jaw curved outwards along a single ridge,
giving its mouth a scissor-like appearance. How it hunted is still a mystery
as the shape of its jaws would have made it harder to swim, although one
theory is that Edestus would use its powerful frame to charge its prey and
slam its serrated teeth into its side like a spiked mace, which probably would
have been a killing blow.
Cladoselache
Ancient ancestor of all sharks
100mya ~ Rise of the modern shark

Many easily recognisable features of
modern sharks, like the mako and
porbeagle, can be found on their ancient
ancestors from this period.
2mya ~ Megalodon disappears

The last fossil teeth of Megalodon can
be traced to around this time, having
terrorised the oceans for over 13
million years.
About 350 million years ago, the rst of what scientists

recognise to be true sharks emerged. Cladoselache was
the ancestor of them all to the untrained eye, it more
closely resembled the sh from which it had evolved.
However, on closer inspection, it had a few key
features in common with modern sharks. It was
extremely streamlined, with a fusiform body
that tapered at both ends, and pectoral ns
that acted like stabilising hydrofoils as it
moved swiftly through the water. Unlike
modern sharks, the shape of its teeth
suggests that Cladoselache merely
gripped its prey in its mouth before
swallowing whole. At just over 1.5
metres (5 feet) long, it was far from
the top of the food chain, although it
was more than capable of outpacing
its predators.
65
BIOBOX
Birthday: April 21, 1973
Birth place: Surrey, England
Education: Studied English
and Theatre Studies at
Exeter University
Hidden skill: Has a black
belt in martial arts
Best known for: Handling
dangerous animals in BBC
TVs Deadly 60
Other work: Lost Land
of the Tigers, The Venom
Hunters, The Really Wild
Show
Awards: Received a
BAFTA for Best Childrens
Presenter in 2012
66
Steve Backshall
BITING BACK
A VOICE FOR WILDLIFE
TV presenter and wildlife enthusiast, Steve Backshall, speaks out for

sharks in a bid to help save this misunderstood predator
From within the gloomy deep-blue, an alien form glinted
and glimmered. I hung motionless above the seabed,
barely even daring to breathe in case my expelled bubbles
spooked the ethereal shape just beyond my gaze. Then,
languidly, lazily, the metallic torpedo shape turned towards
me, and started to come into focus. The shark was
perhaps four metres long, half of which was made up by
a scimitar-shaped tail that trailed behind it like a silver
banner in the breeze. Its large eyes were billiard ball black,
the whole form of the sh seemed cloaked in aluminium
foil. As its mirror anks sinuously twisted side to side, it
caught the early morning light, and suddenly the thresher
shark was revealed in all its bizarre, brilliant glory. It was
one of the most overwhelming wildlife encounters Ive ever
had, with a shark we have right here in British waters.
Last spring the UKs tabloids frothed at the mind with
every editors fantasy story; a man-eating great white
shark set to terrorise British beaches. It got even more

frenzied with the outlandish speculation that Lydia (the
satellite-tagged shark heading across the Atlantic in our
direction) could be pregnant. She could bring a whole new
clan of man-eaters to our shores!
The story zzled out as Lydia nosed south towards more
familiar waters, perhaps off towards the Mediterranean,
but the hysteria had already exposed the British publics
lack of awareness of the wildlife that inhabits our
surrounding seas. Though great whites may be rare visitors
to our waters, they have never stayed long enough to be
caught or identied here. However, many people will be
surprised to know that we do have at least 50 species
of sharks in British seas. Unfortunately, ignorance of our
marine environments and an out of sight out of mind
mentality has allowed sharks to be pillaged on a scale that
is beyond comprehension.
67
BELOW The angel shark

was heavily hunted in the
1980s, leaving its numbers
dangerously reduced, even
to this day
In British seas, the nearest thing we have to a great white

is the porbeagle shark. This species looks like a smaller
version of the great white, feeding on squid, and other
sh and sharks, and shares some of the vulnerabilities
of its more iconic cousin. Porbeagles are long-lived, but
take a long time to mature. They may be pregnant for a
year or more, and produce few young. This is a common
strategy amongst sharks and other apex marine predators,
and has worked fabulously for them over the last 400
million years. However, porbeagles now nd themselves
facing a ruthlessly efcient hunter: us. The sharks have
been overshed to the brink of extinction, mostly for
their meat and sh oil, and for their ns, which are used
in Chinese shark n soup. Fishermen searching for
more commercially viable species kill many porbeagles
as accidental by-catch; indeed they are often sold as
swordsh, which their meat resembles. Now critically
endangered in the North Atlantic, sheries face decades
of panic management to make sure paltry populations of
this wonderful shark stand any chance of surviving.
Porbeagle sharks are not alone in their plight; angel
sharks and common skate are functionally extinct in our
waters, and overshing of tope and spiny dogsh
(once our most abundant sharks) has almost
entirely depleted their numbers.
Its a conservation nightmare that has
been repeated a thousand times through
recent human history: not recognising that
animals are close to extinction until its far
too late to save them.
The reasons Ive chosen to focus
on sharks are manifold. Firstly,
because they have precious few friends, and are

fundamentally misunderstood animals in need of an
image makeover. Secondly, because they are probably
the group of animals that has brought me the most joy
and fascination throughout my life, through jaw-dropping
and unforgettable encounters. And thirdly because their
biology, and our shing practices, make them peculiarly
vulnerable. These are species that are vital to the wider
ecosystem health: it is essential that we do not lose sharks
from our seas.
So what is the answer? We have all the science and
research at our ngertips to know what we can and cant
catch, but regulations need to be put in place to make sure
we keep our shing at a sustainable level. History shows us
all too often that unrestricted exploitation and unregulated
trade leads to population numbers crashing, potentially
never to recover. This is all too true for sharks; while some
protection and management has been secured for those
most under threat, many species remain exposed to the
impacts of uncontrolled shing.
We need to start acting now. Organisations like the UKbased Shark Trust are calling on high seas management
authorities and governments, demanding the adoption of
effective management for stocks before theres a need
to talk recovery plans. Campaigns such as Bite Back are
aiming to bring an end to the selling of shark n soup at
UK restaurants. Direct pressure onto supermarkets can
change what they choose to stock. Science-based catch
limits would be sustainability in action, both for the species
and for the communities that rely on them.
If we lose the sharks, the mighty, mysterious lords of the
deep, our planets oceans will be innitely poorer places.
They are fundamentally misunderstood

animals in need of an image makeover
Porbeagles prefer
cold water, generally
around one to 18
degrees Celsius
(33.8 to 64.4 degrees
Fahrenheit)
68
Steve Backshall
Sharks under attack
50
73 100 12-15 $700
% million
Percentage of UK
shark species listed

as threatened
Killed for shark

n soup each year
MILLION YEARS PER KG

Number of sharks
killed each year
Time for sharks to reach

their reproductive age
Average cost of
a shark n
1-2
Number of pups
a shark usually
gives birth to
$470
MILLION
Gross income worldwide

of the lm Jaws, which
is believed to have
contributed to the bad
reputation of sharks
30-50
million
Number of sharks killed

by being caught up in
nets and lines
Why we should be saving

sharks instead of fearing them
They are endangered because of us
Their ecosystem needs them
They keep our oceans healthy
It is actually sharks that should fear humans and

not the other way around. While only six people
were killed by shark attacks in 2014, millions of
sharks are killed every year by human activity.
The large, shallow water species, such as angel
sharks, are under the greatest threat.
Sharks play a hugely important role in their

ecosystem. They maintain a balance by keeping
populations of other species level and because
they prey on the weakest animals, they control
the spread of disease and improve the gene
pool for future generations.
The ocean is the worlds most important

ecosystem. It provides a third of the world
with food, produces more oxygen than all the
worlds rainforests put together and controls the
planets climate. Sharks dying out would have a
devastating effect on the ocean ecosystem.
What is being done

to protect these
amazing sh
ABOVE
The common skate
has been legally
protected from
shing in the UK
since 2009
Alamy; FLPA; Nature PL; Thinkstock
There are a number of

organisations working
to protect the future of
sharks. The Shark Trust
has been dedicated to shark
conservation since it was
founded in 1997. Their No Limits Campaign
aims to stop uncontrolled shark shing by
working to secure science-based catch limits
for shark species. So far limits have been
imposed for species such as the spiny dogsh,
and most skates and rays. However, there is
still work to be done for species like the blue
shark, shortn mako, tope, smooth-hound
and catshark. The Trust has also been heavily
involved in campaigning to stop shark nning.
Although a ban on shark nning was adopted
in European waters, it is still legal to buy and
sell shark ns in most countries, and the
Trust is working with governments to tighten
regulations and ensure compliance. Their Bite
Back campaign aims to stop restaurants in the
UK selling shark n soup.
WWW.SHARKTRUST.ORG
Find out more about the Shark Trust or add your

voice to the campaign.
69
Ocean
Predators
The ocean is infested with more than sharks meet the
predators that strike fear in the hearts of oceanic animals
72 The mind of a killer whale
104 Squid vs whale
80 18 facts about killer whales
106 The mimic octopus
82 The beauty of the orca
108 Meet the family of rays
84 18 amazing facts about seals
110 Dolphins
86 Grey seal
118 Spotters guide to dolphins
88 Galpagos sea lion
120 Atlantic blue marlin
90 Meet the family of whales
122 Saltwater crocodiles
92 Songs of the humpback
134 Mysteries of the narwhal
98 Journey of the humpback
140 Polar bears
100 Blue whale
150 50 facts about penguins
102 The beauty of the gray whale
110 140
70
ThinkStock; Alamy
72
100
71
INSIDE THE MIND OF A
KILLER WHALE
Underwater mavericks, the epic brain power
of killer whales is key to how they hunt and
work together to dominate the oceans
72
Killer whales
Jaws was wrong: the great white shark isnt the deadliest
marine monster its the killer whale. No animal dares
to prey on these 9.8-metre (32-foot) beauties, qualifying
them as the apex predators of the ocean, just as humans
are the apex predator of the land. Its human intelligence
that keeps us at the top of the food chain, and killer
whales or orcas, as theyre also known have incredible
brain power to match their superior brawn.
In fact, they have the second largest brain of any marine
mammal (after the sperm whale), but size isnt all that
matters. Intelligence is measured by a number of different
factors, with scientists analysing social behaviour, selfawareness and communication when forging lists of the
cleverest creatures on Earth.
Killer whales tick all these boxes, boasting one of
the most complex social structures in the entire animal
kingdom. They travel together in matrilineal groups

consisting of a mother and her offspring and since
females can live up to the grand old age of 90, there can
be multiple generations in one group.
While female offspring may go their separate ways
and start their own matrilineal lines when they hit sexual
maturity (between 10 and 15 years), the male killer whales
commonly remain with their mothers their entire lives.
Thats not to say they dont enjoy a healthy social life,
though. Closely related matrilines (up to four matriarchs
and their offspring) form what are known as pods, which
sometimes meet up with other pods of orcas.
The nal level of the social structure is called a
community. This is created when a group of clans in an
area meet up and likely nd themselves a mate, but the
males will always return to their mothers side.
BELOW Orca
whales surface
in Lynn Canal
with the
Alaskan Chilkat
mountains seen
in the distance
73

Amazingly, each pod of killer whales
possible to tell which ecotype they belong
KILLER WHALE
has its own dialect a series of distinct
to. There are actually three forms of killer
Orcinus orca
call patterns which gives the group its
whales: resident (the most recognised),
Class Mammalia
own unique identity. As soon as a baby
transient and offshore. Not only do they
killer whale (called a calf) is welcomed into
each sound different, but they also look
the world, the family will use these calls
and act in a variety of ways. They dont
more frequently than ever. This is so that
associate with one another and one day we
the newborn can master the lingo, just
might even be able to distinguish them as
Territory All oceans
like human parents use repetition to teach
separate species. However, the one thing
Diet Carnivore
their children how to talk. Mothers share
they will always have in common is their
valuable life lessons with their calves and
unmatched hunting methods that they
/ 6tn
discipline them from as young as two days
pass to their young. Sometimes the adults
Conservation status
old with a tooth scratch, or by using their
will injure their prey and then release it near
bodies to restrict the babys movement.
the juvenile whales to give them a sporting
Communicating via distinct clicks and
chance of catching their dinner.
DATA DEFICIENT
whistles also helps to hammer the message
Despite actually belonging to the
home even further.
dolphin family, killer whales can grow
An orcas voice helps it nd supper in the rst place.
to a staggering size of 9.7 metres (32 feet) and weigh
To enable the creatures to navigate the murky depths
over 5,500 kilograms (12,100 pounds). Dare to peek
of the ocean, killer whales emit a clicking sound that
inside their jaws and youll nd over 40 spiky teeth up
travels under the water, bounces off an object and then
to 13 centimetres (ve inches) in length, each of which
returns with revealing information about the objects size,
is designed to bear down on blubbery esh, ripping it
shape and distance. This incredible technique is known as
apart without the need to chew. They are positioned so
echolocation and helps orcas track down their favourite
that the upper teeth fall into the gaps between the lower
kind of sh chinook salmon. Once they are locked onto
set, which help to lock the prey in place. Its denitely
their target, the incredible orcas appear to go into stealth
an advantage when the favourite meals of transient and
mode so as to not give the game away too soon.
offshore types tend to wriggle, including seals, penguins,
Not all orcas have the same diet, however, and just as
sharks and other whales. Theyve even been known to
their unique dialects differentiate between pods, its also
take on great white sharks and blue whales, the latter
Once they are locked onto their target, the

incredible orcas appear to go into stealth mode
so as to not give the game away too soon
Killer features
The impressive physical attributes that

make the orca such a natural hunter
More than
one orca
Take a closer look at the
dierent populations of killer
whale in the world
Offshore
Distinguishing features:
Smaller in size and females have
rounded dorsal n tips
Diet: Sharks, sh
Commonly found: North-east
Pacic and Vancouver Island.
Their name gives away their love
of travelling far from shore.
Transient
Females have a triangular
dorsal n
Diet: Marine mammals
Commonly found: Coastal
waters of the north-east Pacic,
usually in smaller groups of six.
Resident
Females usually have a rounded
dorsal n
Diet: Fish, sometimes squid
Commonly found: Coastal
waters of the north-east Pacic.
They live on a diet of sh and
move in matrilineal groups.
Canada
Vancouver Island
Pacic
USA
Dorsal n
An orca steers using the
dorsal n, which can reach
up to a staggering 1.8
metres (six feet) for males.
Blowhole
Air enters the
lungs through
the blowhole
and muscles
keep it covered
under the
water.
Echolocation
over eye
Orcas have
excellent eyesight,
but echolocation
is their best
navigation tool.
Pectoral n
The ns on
either side are
used to touch
and steer.
Fluke
An important part to the killer
whales vital hunting manoeuvres,
the tail propels the whale through
the water at top speed, enabling it
to also balance as it oats upright,
peering cautiously.
74
40 sharp teeth
These are positioned
so that the upper teeth
fall into the gaps of the
lower set, locking prey in
place so killers can drag
their victim underwater.
Killer whales
Sharp senses
Orcas use echolocation as a means of
navigation, hunting and communication, by
emitting high-frequency clicks under the water
Emitting clicks
The orca emits short pulses
of sounds called clicks and
when these sound waves
connect with an object, they
bounce back.
In communication
Orcas also use echolocation
to communicate and each
pod has its own unique
sound that it uses when
members interact.
Making sound waves

Sound travels faster and
farther underwater than
it does in air, but the killer
whales sensory system
enables it to decipher the
dierent echoes.
Listening for echoes

These echoes enable
the killer whale to
detect prey, but some
sh are able to hear the
clicks and escape with
early warning.
Orcas in numbers
34 15-18
5-30
months
mph
A killer whale
swimming at full
power can reach
this incredible
top speed
The gestation
period for orca
mothers is twice
that of a human
90
yrs
Some female
orcas can reach
this ripe old age
in the wild
Orca pods
can consist of
many members
hunting and
migrating as one
of which can grow larger than three double-decker

buses! However, its not just a formidable body structure
designed to propel them through the water at speeds
of 50 kilometres (30 miles) per hour that enables orcas
to bring down such large prey. Its their minds that make
them true killers.
Working as a team, orcas adopt a manoeuvre known as
spy-hopping, where the creatures swim vertically to the
surface and poke their heads above water to take a good
look at their surroundings. For at least 30 seconds they
use their tail (or uke) for balance and pectoral ippers
on either side to keep aoat, like a human uses their arms
to tread water. Theyll be hoping to spot a seal, although
these cute-looking animals are armed with sharp claws
and teeth the killer whales know this, so will always aim
to grab the seals tail to be on the safe side.
Before the chase even begins, the orcas gang up on the
seal that will be resting on an ice oe, thinking its probably
50 9.8 15 227
thousand
The estimated
metres
population of
The top length of
killer whales
a killer whale
yrs
Age at which
female killer
whales mature
kilos
BELOW The
whales peek
above water to
check for prey,
then jump at an
impressive speed
to catch one
Amount an orca
eats each day
safer on the land than in the water. Working

together, the whales duck under the surface and
swim side by side towards their quarry. At the
last moment, they quickly change direction and
unleash an all-mighty wave that crashes over
the block of ice and knocks the prey clean
into the water.
By now the seal is fully aware that its
under siege and theres always a chance
it can escape by clambering aboard
another ice oe. The orcas will be doing
everything they can to prevent this, by
using their immense bodies to create
underwater turbulence and blowing
bubbles to encourage the seal to dart
into open water where it doesnt stand a
chance against the pod. From this point
on its a game of catch-the-seal-
75
Lethal hunting techniques

Orcas make formidable predators thanks to their ability to operate as a team
and make use of methods that are masterstrokes of whale ingenuity
Team work
Seals have excellent hearing,
so the whales remain silent
before going in for the kill. They
remain in parallel formation
and charge towards the ice oe
where a seal is resting.
Spy-hopping
Killer whales are the only
marine mammal known to
locate and capture prey out
of the water by spy-hopping
rising vertically above the
surface to see whats there.
Catch of the day

A seals teeth are sharp,
so the whales will avoid
getting hurt in the process of
capturing their meal by aiming
for the tail. They will then drag
their quarry under the water
to drown it, before divvying up
portions among the pod.
Making killer waves

Pumping their tails (ukes), the
whales create an almighty wave
that crashes over the ice oe and
washes the seal into the water.
They continue to work as a team
to confuse the seal by blowing
bubbles and creating turbulence.
The way the killers hunt is a prime example of their

intelligence and fascinating minds.
by-its-tail, and once they do they will drag the creature to
the oceans depths and drown it. Unlike the seal, the killer
whale can hold its breath for long periods of time. The way
the killers hunt is a prime example of their intelligence and
fascinating minds.
A family that forages together, feeds together, but seals
only make modest meals. If the opportunity arises, the
orcas will hunt other whales, such as the Antarctic minke.
These solitary animals easily match the size of a killer
whale, which is still small by whale standards, but provides
a hearty feast for a hungry pod. When the minke whale
is within sight, the black-and-white hunters head towards
the creature at top speed and draw level. They position
themselves with one on either side of the victim, blocking
any means of escape, and pursue it for hours on end.
76
The minkes only real defence is its sheer endurance, but

the killer whales are genius hunters. The outriders replace
one another in relays, keeping up momentum. With many
killers and only one minke, the latter inevitably tires. The
orcas then move in for the kill, biting and attempting to ip
the whale over. By keeping its blowhole submerged, they
can effectively drown the minke before devouring it.
The whales are so expertly organised that they have
been compared to wolf packs, and this erce reputation
has endured since ancient times, giving them their
scientic name Orcinus orca. The name comes from the
mythological Orcus the Roman god of death and the
underworld. Still, theres no record of this sea-bound
behemoth ever killing a human in the wild. In captivity,
however, its a different story.
Killer whales
Smart moves
Orcas display complex behaviour that
shows just how intelligent they are
Emotion
Male killer whales will remain with their
mothers all their lives, which can be up to
50 years! Families of orcas are so close
that capturing one is akin to kidnapping a
human. Researchers have noted that they
exhibit what seems like grieving when a
member of the pod dies, causing others to
become withdrawn.
Speech
One of the most amazing discoveries is
that different pods have their own unique
dialects. They make these sounds more
frequently when a calf has been born
so that the youngster can learn, just like
human parents teach their children to
speak. Its thought that these advanced
dialects create a group identity and also
prevents inbreeding.
Social structure
A family that forages together,

feeds together, but seals only
make modest meals
These incredibly social animals travel

in pods that can consist of up to four
generations. A social hierarchy exists
within groups of killer whales, with the
females being more dominant. Signs of
establishing authority within a pod include
slapping their tails against the water, as
well as snapping their jaws.
Problem solving
The average orca will eat over 550 pounds
(250 kilograms) of food a day, working
as a team to successfully catch their prey.
This could be anking a minke whale on
either side and regularly swapping places,
like a relay race, or charging an ice block in
unison to cause a wave to wash their prey
into the water.
Playfulness
Orcas have a great sense of humour and
theres plenty of video footage to back
this up. You can watch them playing with
balls of ice and even mimicking the sound
of a motor boat a surprisingly accurate
impression. Other anecdotes include orcas
moving objects that humans are trying
to reach and theyve even been known to
play with their food, letting it slip away but
always catching the prey in the end.
ABOVE Pods
are led by female
matriarchs, who
pass on hunting
skills to their
ospring and
family members
77

Quick questions
with an expert
Name: Erich Hoyt
Role: Whale and dolphin researcher
Organisation: Research fellow with Whale and Dolphin Conservation UK
You were working as a sound
later, we are still learning every
For your book, Orca: The
engineer to record orcas
day about this amazing and
Whale Called Killer, you
voices before dedicating your
beautiful species.
spent time living among pods
career to the scientic study
of killer whales o northern
and conservation of them.
Theyve been called wolves of
Vancouver Island, Canada.
Can you describe that rst
the sea and killing demons.
Could you share some of your
encounter with a killer whale?
What did orcas do to earn such
experiences?
I learned some of the orca
frightening names?
I spent ten summers with the
sounds on an electronic
They are predators at the top
same pods of killer whales,
synthesizer and on one of the
of the food chain. From Greek
getting to know them as
rst times we met the killer
and Roman times orcas were
individuals and families.
whales I played them my
seen hunting together in pods,
Some were very stand-osh,
imitation of one of their calls.
killing and eating larger whale
while others such as two
Aer a moments hesitation,
species. That would have
older matriarchs, Nicola and
two or three whales answered
earned them some of those
Stubbs, were very friendly and
in unison with a perfect mimic
names. At the same time,
tolerant of our presence. There
of my sound. Later we realised
however, in native cultures
were a couple of hyperactive
that since the young whales
living around the Pacic rim,
youngsters in the early years
are born without the sounds
orcas were highly respected
that we called The Twins. They
of the pod, that mimicry is an
for their hunting ability. Some
werent actually twins but hung
important method for learning
cultures saw them as their
around together and used to
what turned out to be vocal
ancestors and put them on
play around our boat. They
dialects that were unique to
their totem poles to be admired
would also come by our camp
each pod. Now, many years
and respected.
at night and splash in the near-
Orcas show high levels of emotional

capacity, self-awareness and problemsolving skills that show a superior intellect
BELOW The
family structures
within pods is
integral to killer
whale survival,
and is a big
indicator of their
huge intelligence
78
Since the 1970s there have been attacks on nearly

two dozen people worldwide, but opinion is divided
over whether these are accidents or deliberate attacks.
Orca expert and neuroscientist Lori Marino doesnt
underestimate this animals intelligence: Im not trying to
second-guess what was in this particular whales mind,
she told Orlando Sentinel, referring to a recent fatality in
an aquatic park. Certainly, if we are talking about whether
killer whales have the wherewithal and the cognitive
capacity to intentionally strike out at someone, or to be
angry, or to really know what they are doing, I would
have to say the answer they do.
Researchers agree that orcas exhibit
high levels of emotional capacity, selfawareness and problem-solving skills
that hint at a superior intellect.
Fishermen tell stories of Alaskan
killer whales stealing sh from
longlines and, when the men
started positioning their
boats miles apart and
taking turns to reel in
the haul, the orcas split
into two groups.
Footage of killer
whales playing with
chunks of ice when
a man tossed a
snow ball in their
direction shows
shore waters. We truly felt a

part of their world.
As a senior research fellow
with Whale and Dolphin
Conservation UK, what can
people do to help ensure the
continued survival of this
amazing animal?
Join a whale-conservation
group, adopt an orca, a dolphin
or a whale, volunteer, refuse
to go to SeaWorld, read all you
can about the ocean. A good
starting point is the website
Whales.org or its Facebook
page. Read up, follow them and
get to know the whale world!
Orca: The Whale Called Killer
by Erich Hoyt is digitally
available on Kindle. For more
information, visit www.
erichhoytbooks.com.
intelligence in the form of recreation, too. In fact, the

whales are well known for their playfulness and curiosity.
Theyre also often observed leaping out of the ocean
and landing on their side or back with a colossal splash,
known as breaching, and lob-tailing, which involves
slapping the tail ukes on the waters surface. These
displays of water acrobatics can be a sign the killer whales
are courting, relieving an itch or purely playing. Mothers
dedicate a lot of time to the latter, investing so much time
in being good parents that they only have a calf every ve
years or so. This is also due to a lengthy gestation period
of 16 to 18 months the longest of any whale. This is
surprising since they are by no means the largest mammal
of the ocean, but it takes time to develop such a large
brain the second largest of any animal on the planet.
Fascinatingly, killer whales also experience the
menopause just like human females do. They are one of
only three species that continue to live long after they
have stopped reproducing, which means the mothers
can devote the rest of their lives to taking care of their
offspring and grandchildren. The reason for this unusual
evolutionary trait is believed to lie in their social structure,
where mothers take a leading role.
Each member of the pod pitches in to raise the
young and the bonds between them are akin to human
families. When a calf dies, for example, mothers have
been witnessed carrying their baby with their heads
and when the calf slips, the family dives to retrieve the
body. They appear to become withdrawn, go off their
food and regularly return to the spot where their family
member died. As humans, its difcult for us to avoid
projecting our own feelings onto an animal, but it seems
that killer whales and other highly intelligent species
such as bottlenose dolphins and elephants mourn their
dead. Its heartbreaking, but this emotional intelligence is
just another indication of how astoundingly clever these
animals really are.
Killer whales
BELOW An
orca dives back
into the water
aer breaching,
which is thought
to be part of the
courting process
Corbis; Getty; FLPA; NaturePL.com; Thinkstock; Dan Cole; Peter Scott; Christopher Michael
Each member of the pod

pitches in to raise their
young and the bonds
between them are akin to
human families
79
18Fantastic facts
Killer whales
Killer by name, killer by nature?
Its time to nd out the truth
about the whale that isnt a
whale, from which even great
whites make a hasty retreat
Killer whales are dolphins

Despite their name, killer whales are in fact the
largest members of the dolphin, or delphinidae
family. Though just to confuse matters further,
all dolphins fall under the order of infraorder
odontoceti or toothed whales!
They go by many names

Today, they are most commonly known as orcas and
killer whales, but their Latin name orcinus orca is thought
to translate in modern terms to demon from hell. Across
the centuries and dierent cultures, they have also been
called asesinas de ballenas, which translates as whale
killers in Spanish, zwaardwalvis, meaning sword whale
in Dutch and shachi, the Japanese term for tiger and sh.
Excluding humans,
no mammals range is
as widespread as the
orcas. They are found
in all of Earths oceans,
from the equator to
both poles
Just behind the dorsal
fin, killer whales have a
grey patch known as the
saddle, or cape. Varying
in shape and colouration
between individuals
and easily spotted from
the surface, this is often
used along with the fin
to identify individuals
Male orcas are slightly
larger than females
and their dorsal n is
an indicator of gender
80
Family matters to orcas

A mother cares for her calf for one to two years. Even
once they have matured, most killer whales will stay in
the same pod as their mother for the rest of their lives.
Their closest
relatives are
actually hippos
Despite acting more like wolves,
orcas share a common ancestor
with the hippopotamus, a
prehistoric pig-like animal called
indohyus that lived around 48
million years ago.
They are the

fastest marine
mammals
These apex predators are the
cheetahs of the sea. In 1958 a
bull killer whale was clocked
travelling at 55.5 kilometres
(34.5 miles) per hour in the
Pacic Ocean.
Killer whales
They are great team players
Killer whales form close-knit bonds with their fellow pod
members, which on average tends to number around
40 individuals. They do everything together, spending
their time travelling in search of food, playing, hunting
and resting. They have developed some ingenious
collaborative tactics for capturing prey, including taking
turns to chase down a victim until its exhausted and
creating waves to knock stranded animals off ice oes.
They can hunt just

like bats
Killer whales can detect their next meal
in murky water or even at night by
making clicking sounds and listening
for the resulting echoes. Studies have
shown they can even pinpoint specic
prey using this technique. They use this
same echolocation ability to navigate.
Unlike bats, orcas also have acute
vision, so they can use both senses
individually or together, depending on
the environmental conditions.
Every pod has its

own dialect
Very social creatures, killer whales use a
complex series of whistles, pulsed calls
and clicks to communicate with one
another. There are similarities in signals
across all groups, but nevertheless,
scientists have detected distinct
variations, not just between regions but
even from pod to pod.
They listen through

their jaws
Killer whales will

sometimes eat sharks
Although the orcas physical ears are two

small holes located just below the eyes,
several parts of the head contribute to
its hearing. It targets clicks in a beam
from the bump on its head called the
melon, then perceives the majority of the
returning echoes via its fat-lled lower
jawbone, through which the vibrations
pass to the inner ears.
Sharks usually sit quite comfortably

at the top of the food chain, but even
they need to take care if killer whales
are around. In 2014, marine biologists
captured a video of an orca pod
harrying a tiger shark until it ipped
over. There have even been sightings of
orcas taking on great whites!
Black and white is perfect camouage
The killer whales patchy markings have evolved as a form
of disruptive colouration, masking their true outline to
deceive prey into thinking they are no threat, until its too
late. They are primarily black on their backs and white on
their bellies, which also makes them harder to spot from
either above or below.
They also eat moose

It might not seem the most likely of
prey for a marine mammal, but moose
and deer in Alaska have fallen victim to
orcas when swimming between islands
and the mainland.
Theyre not afraid to

venture onto land
Often referred to as blacksh, killer whales

appear in many legends and fables in
Native American cultures. Some believe
orcas were the reincarnated spirits of
young tribesmen lost at sea.
Alamy; Ardea; Dreamstime; Thinkstock
Orcas are very sacred

to many Native
American tribes
Killer whales can go to great lengths to

catch their next meal, even intentionally
hurling themselves out of the water
and beaching themselves to catch
a sea lion or penguin lingering
temptingly close to the
waterline. Typically performing
this trick at high tide, they let
the waves carry them back
into the sea, though now
and then it can backre
and they get stranded.
Their favourite delicacy is tongue
Sometimes killer whales will take on bigger
whales, even the largest animal ever to live
the blue whale. Only able to eat so much in one
sitting, they generally dine on the tongue and
lips and leave the rest. That said, in the case
of the blue whale this is no small snack, as its
tongue is big enough to t a line of 50 people!
81
Oceans brainiacs
Killer whales
Killer whales have the second-largest
brains among ocean dwellers but what do they use it for?
With their instantly recognisable
colouring and huge triangle-shaped
dorsal n up to 1.8-metre (six-foot)
high in some males orcas look every
inch the predator. These animals are
classed as dolphins, and have incredibly
clever methods of communication that
they use during hunting and feeding.
Often found living in family pods,
orcas like to eat penguins and seals.
They hunt as a close-knit group to
surround and confuse prey, taking it in
KILLER WHALE
Orcinus orca
Class Mammalia
Territory Found in all the

worlds oceans
Diet Seals, sea lions, penguins
Lifespan (in wild) 50-80 years
(11,900lb)
Conservation Status
DATA DEFICIENT
82
turns often to get a bite. These whales

have even been known to rock oating
ice from beneath to wash seals off their
perches and into a hungry mouth!
Arctic and Antarctic life is easy for
an orca thick layers of blubber help
to keep out the chill and orcas are
constantly active. Killer whales spend a
lot of time at the surface, and engage
in plenty of spyhopping where the
whale sticks its head above the surface
breaching and tail-splashing.
Killer whales
Whats in a name?
The name orca comes from the whales
Latin name Orcinus orca, but many
people know the orca as the killer
whale. The orcas stealthy hunting tactics
alongside its large appetite certainly
contributes to this name! The Spanish
sometimes refer to the orcas as ballena
asesina, meaning assassin whale and
its thought that whalers named orcas
whale killers when they witnessed them
hunting other whale species. Killer whale
seems to have been adopted over time.
83
18
Amazing
facts
Seals
From the gaseous blood of an elephant

seal to their four-legged ancestors, this
group of marine carnivores has a lot of
secrets that were gradually uncovering
The deepest-diving
seals are elephant seals,
reaching depths of
2,400m (7,835ft). Thats
like swimming 50 lengths
of an Olympic swimming
pool without taking a
single breath.
Pups wait to be waterproof
Most newborn seal pups are born
with silky so white fur and spent their
rst four to six weeks of their lives on
land. During this time, their layer of
insulating blubber thickens and their
baby u is replaced by waterproof fur.
Seals evolved in the Arctic from

four-legged mammals around
30 million years ago. Their
closest relatives on land are
otters, dogs and bears.
84
Harbour seals have unique

whiskers. Theyre twisted
in an asymmetric pattern
which allows the animals
to detect the trail of a sh
35 seconds after it has
passed the seal.
Seals
Seals can live for more
than 45 years, with females
typically having a longer life
span than males
The southern elephant seal is
the largest of all pinnipeds,
weighing up to a massive
3,855kg (8,500lb)
Crabeater seals are the
most abundant seal species,
with an estimated 75 million
living on the planet
California sea lions are the
fastest member of the family
and are able to swim at
40km/h (25mph) in short
sprinting bursts
Mothers produce 50 per cent fat milk
Female seals produce milk that is 50 per cent
fat to feed their newborns. By guzzling this fatty
milk, seal pups are able to gain 2kg (5lb) every
day until they are large enough to learn to hunt.
Seals blow
bubbles
Getting the attention of a female
is a challenge for male seals,
and they use sounds to tell their
neighbours that they are the
best seal around. Rather than
barking like a sea lion, seals make
growling sounds to communicate
about their quality as a mate
and to warn other males away.
Creating loud splashes by
slapping the waters surface
and blowing bubbles while
submerged also attract females
to a prime male seal.
Seals have a higher hearing

threshold than humans,
meaning they can hear
higher-pitched sounds than
we can
An elephant seals
blood has an unusually
high concentration of
carbon-monoxide gas
that could help control
their buoyancy and
protect their lungs.
Monk seals are violent
With a combination of massive weight
and the instinct to mate, male monk
seals injure and even occasionally kill
females when trying to mate with
them. These seals mob females while
their blood is surging with testosterone,
unfortunately sometimes leaving the
females injured or even killed.
There are 33 members of

the pinniped family and
these are split up into three
groups; the true seals that
include harp and leopard
seals; the eared seal group
with sea lions and fur seals;
and walruses that make up
the third group
Thinkstock, Dreamsitme
Elephant seals can hold their breath for two hours

Weddell seals can hold their breath for 80 minutes, only
surfacing when they spot a hole in the Antarctic ice above
them. The true masters are elephant seals that can hold
their breath for up to two hours while diving.
Ringed seals are the smallest

Ringed seals are the smallest
member of the family with body
lengths of just over 1m (3), with the
smallest weighing only 50kg (110lb).
These are the most common seals
in the Arctic and make up more than
60 per cent of a polar bears diet.
Female seals flock to the

strongest male seals during
mating season. These groups
of females are called harems,
and a single male seal gets to
have his choice of up to 50
of these females in any given
mating season
85
Spotters guide
Grey seals
Discover where you might get a chance
to nd these incredible seal species
The charismatic creature is one of the
rarest seal species in the world, but its
easy to catch a glimpse when you know
where to look. Youll most likely nd them
on rocky islands and coasts around the
UK, since Britain plays host to half the
worlds grey seal population. Some of the
best seal-watching spots are Blakeney in
Norfolk, the Orkney Islands and Cornwall.
The latter offers boat trips in Newquay
Harbour, as well as being home to the
Cornish Seal Sanctuary where you can see
rescued seals that have been brought in
for emergency treatment.
The chances are that you will be able
to see these underwater horses all year
round, as they have plenty of excuses
to come ashore (known as hauling-out).
Grey seals will leave the water to mate
during their annual moult in the spring, to
bear pups in the autumn, or even just to
digest their food. Some of the best sites
require boat access, so you should always
seek a Wildlife Safe (WiSe) operator,
who will have been trained in minimising
Get out and see them

Find a seal-spotting trip
Phoenix Boat Trips
www.phoenix-boat-trips.co.uk
07703 168097
Operating in Moray Firth, Scotland,
this trip oers views of a seal colony
near Ardersier.
Monomoy Island Ferry
www.monomoyislandferry.com
508-237-0420
Operating from Chatham,
Massachusetts, USA, this trip oers
tours around the Monomoy Islands.
Blakeney Point Seal Trips
www.blakeneypointsealtrips.co.uk
01263 740 792
A voyage through the historic seaport
of Blakeney Harbour on the North
Norfolk Coast.
Sea.fari
www.seafari.co.uk
0131 331 4857
Hop on board the 55-passenger
catamaran into North Berwick in
Scotland. Pre-booking is essential.
Sealife
www.seawildlife.co.uk
01445 781729
Set sail on this glass-bottom boat trip
that promises daily sightings of the
common and grey seals.
86
disturbance to marine wildlife. You can

also help avoid causing a disturbance by
wearing low-visibility clothing because,
although seals see in black-and-white,
any bright colours will stand out. Its also
sensible to wear waterproofs and wrap up
warm, since coastal winds can cause a
chill. Fortunately for seals, they have a
thick layer of blubber and waterproof
fur that keeps them insulated.
Youll nd them in the United
States too, near Cape Cod,
Massachusetts, or even
New York and New Jersey.
However, these waters are
also home to the grey seals
natural predator, the great
white shark, so if youre
seal-spotting stateside
you might see more
than you bargained
for. They can also be
found across North
Americas east coast,
and Europe.
GREY SEAL
Halichoerus grypus
Class Mammalia
Territory North Atlantic Ocean

Diet Carnivore
Adult weight 220kg / 485lbs
Conservation Status
LEAST CONCERN
Grey seals
The grey seal is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean
Seals have a thick

layer of blubber and
waterproof fur that
keeps them insulated
ABOVE Seal watching boat approaches

a sand bar in Blakeney, Norfolk, UK
Whats the difference between a

seal and a sea lion?
Theyre oen confused, but these two sea predators are very dierent
Ears
Sea lions have external ear aps on either side of their head,
whereas true seals only have ear openings without aps.
Seals have lost their ear aps over time to become more
streamlined when swimming.
Swimming ability
Seals have evolved to be
more streamlined than sea
lions because they spend
more time in water. While
sea lions can dive to depths
of 275 metres (900 feet),
seals can reach depths of
4,100 metres (13,450 feet).
Sounds
Sea lions bark and are
notoriously noisy, but
seals are much less
vocal. Seals do make
a variety of sounds but
these are mostly used
to attract mates.
Steering
Sea lions steer with their long
front ippers, whereas seals
change direction with their
back ippers. The bones in
a seals
back ippers are extremely
long and strong, and they
propel themselves forward
using only their back ippers.
Back ippers
A sea lions back ippers can rotate outwards to aid
walking, but a seals back ippers are xed facing
backwards. Because of this, sea lions are better at escaping
predators on land than seals.
Whiskers
Both seals and sea lions use their whiskers to detect
vibrations, helping them nd food and sense predators.
Although they serve the same function, sea lions have
straight whiskers and seal whiskers are crimped.
Land movement
Seals wriggle forwards on their bellies when
moving around on land, whereas sea lions
can walk upright with their ippers. This
wriggling action helps seals move across ice
faster than a human could run.
Front ippers
Seals have short, furry ippers with claws on
each digit. The front ippers of a sea lion are
long, hairless and without claws. Because
they are more ecient walkers, sea lions dont
need claws to help drag their bodies.
87
Photoshot; Getty. Thinkstock
Where can you see them?
Endangered
Galpagos sea lion

GALPAGOS SEA LION
Zalophus wollebaeki
Class Mammalia
Territory Galpagos Islands

Diet Carnivore
Lifespan 20 years
Adult weight 50-250kg /
110-550lbs
Conservation status
ENDANGERED
While this magnicent mammal lives in a reserve

protected by the Ecuadorian National Park Authority,
its population uctuates wildly and since the Sixties
it has decreased from 50,000 to an all-time low of
14,000. Violent storms, pollution, limited food and
human interaction have put a signicant dent in this
animals numbers. Despite being an experienced
hunter and predator, a penchant for wandering far
out into the ocean and an innate curiosity towards
humans, often lead the rare creatures into danger
Why its endangered

Pollution
Galpagos sea lions are particularly
vulnerable to the pollutants that inevitably
nd their way into the sea. These creatures
are naturally curious animals, so they often
see oating plastics as toys or objects for
them to play with, which unfortunately are easily
swallowed. More-serious chemical dangers also
lurk in the form of toxic pesticides such as DDT.
Lack of food
Sardines arent just a Galpagos sea lions primary food
source, theyre also high up on a shermans hit list. What
a seal lion wants to eat, so do humans. As such, overshing has depleted this resource and climate change
hasnt helped. The Pacic El Nio storm, which revitalises
the seas and increases food available, has become
increasingly irregular in recent years.
Disease
Through a genetic twist, Galpagos sea lions are
particularly vulnerable to diseases that also affect
dogs and domestic animals. Because of their unique
relationship with humans on the Islands, their forays onto
the mainland take them into the streets and parks, as well
as the beaches. This means they frequently come into
contact with other animals that spread illness.
Discover more
WWW.GALAPAGOSPARK.ORG
Responsible tourism to the Galpagos Islands is

encouraged: the park authority limits tourist numbers and
access to certain areas, so by visiting the sea lions natural
habitat, within the rules, you can help secure its future.
88
Galpagos sea lions

Decreasing numbers
Only a h of the Galpagos sea lion
population exists today
Galpagos
1914
Estimated number of
animals left today
Estimated total animal

population 100 years ago
14,000
70,000
Where they live

As its name suggests, the
Galpagos sea lion is a species that
lives exclusively on the rocks and
in the ocean around the volcanic
Galpagos Islands, just o the
Ecuadorian coast. It also lives in
smaller numbers on the nearby Isla
de la Plata.
Galpagos Islands
and Isla de la Plata
territory in 2014
The Galpagos National Park, or Parque

Nacional Galpagos as its known in its native
tongue, works towards the preservation of the
natural wildlife of this unique island group.
As a UNESCO World Heritage Site and
historic location of Darwins famous 19thcentury voyage, the Galpagos Islands are
a natural wonder that Parque Nacional
Galpagos is serious about preserving.
Initially, the animals in this area didnt fear
humans like the rest of the worlds animals
do. However, in recent years theres been an
increase in sea lion attacks from humans, as
well as accidental shing gear entanglements.
As such, a program was launched to protect
the species and help them better cohabit with
the human population.
The gem in the collection of unique species,
which has evolved in isolation over thousands
of years in the area, is the Galpagos sea lion.
Part of the national parks eort to protect
this animal is a regular, detailed population
census. With the data recorded by the census,
the park ocials can follow up with a sample
and analysis of the disease prevalent in the
population. They can also manage nurseries
and educate local schoolchildren about the
importance of conservation and protection for
the creatures.
For more information and to arrange a visit to
the Islands, go to www.galapagospark.org.
89
IMAGEBROKER,NORBERT PROBST/Imagebroker/FLPA
Island paradise
protection
Meet the family
Whales
GRAY WHALE
Eschrichtius robustus
Class Mammalia
Territory Coastal North Pacic

Diet Amphipods and other
small sea oor dwellers
77,162lbs
Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
Meet six incredible members

of the whale super family
Along for the ride
Parasites and
organisms live on gray
whales bodies, giving
them a distinctive rocklike look.
Gray whale
A haven for tiny
travelling parasites
Known for their distinctive look, these big ocean beasts are
covered in parasites and organisms that make them look a lot like
an ocean rock. Unusually, the whale uses its snout to dislodge small
creatures from the sea oor and sieves them through comb-like
lter plates in its upper jaw known as baleen.
Once used to make corsets and umbrellas, gray whale baleen is
tough but exible and can grow up to 50 centimetres (19.7 inches)
long. While following their lengthy migration, a gray whale can swim
some 20,000 kilometres (12,427 miles) to Alaskan waters and then
back to the Mexican coast.
Filter feeder
Using baleen plates to seive
zooplankton and small sh, Sei
whales consume up to 900 kilograms
(2,000 pounds) of food every day.
Distinctive spout
The sei look similar to blue and nback
whales, except theyre smaller and
have a curved dorsal n with a dark
underside. They are oen noticeable by
the inverted V shape of the spout.
SEI WHALE
Balaenoptera borealis
Class Mammalia
Territory Atlantic and Pacic

Oceans
Diet Zooplankton and small
sh
Lifespan 70 years
61,729lbs
Conservation status
ENDANGERED
Sei whale
The largest brain

Sperm whales have the largest
brain of all animals on Earth.
Weighing 9kg (20lbs), its
about six times heavier than a
humans brain.
A speedy cetacean with

a healthy appetite for plankton
A lter feeder that uses its baleen plates to sieve
zooplankton and small sh out of the water, sei whales can
consume up to 900 kilograms (2,000 pounds) of food
every day, competing with other whales, basking sharks
and large sh such as herring.
Sei prefer temperate waters, although they can be found
in seas all over the world, including tropical, Arctic and
Antarctic oceans. They usually travel alone or in small pods
with less than ve members and can cruise at speeds of
26 kilometres (16 miles) per hour, up to a maximum of 50
kilometres (31 miles) per hour. They have become a more
popular target for whalers as the populations of blue and
nback whales diminish.
90
SPERM WHALE Physeter

macrocephalus
Class Mammalia

Diet Carnivore
Lifespan 50 to 70 years
90,390lbs
Conservation status
VULNERABLE
Sperm whale
The giant of the ocean with a
sizeable brain to match
With the biggest brain of any animal on Earth, the
sperm whale is an incredible creature that can eat an
enormous quantity of food a day.
The whale is named after the spermaceti oil that
it produces in an organ of the same name, within its
huge box-like head. Its thought that this uid, which
hardens to wax when cold, helps the whale regulate
its buoyancy. This comes in useful when the whale
dives to the depths of the ocean to feed on things
like giant squid, where they can hold their breath for
up to 90 minutes at a time.
Whales
Unique markings
Minke whales are
distinguished by a
pointy, triangular snout
and white bands around
their ns.
Minke whale
The baby of the lter feeders
The second smallest baleen whale, the minke, measures on average 6.9
metres (22.6 feet). Distinguishable from other whales by a white band
on each ipper, minke whales have up to 360 baleen plates either side
of their mouths to help feed. Theyre a dark, near-black colour with a
white underbelly. The whale takes three to ve intakes of breath and
dives deep into the water for up to 20 minutes at a time. Reaching
speeds of around 38 kilometres (24 miles) per hour, they sieve
through the water for plankton and krill, catching the
occasional small sh and sometimes giving
chase to sardines. They habituate all the
oceans except polar ones and
swim in groups of just a
few individuals.
MINKE WHALE
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
Class Mammalia
Territory: All oceans bar polar

Diet Plankton and small sh
20,000lbs
Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
Most
unusual
Narwhal
Monodon monoceros
A member of the Monodontidae family (a
group of toothed whales), narwhal are most
recognised for the tusk that grows up to 2.7
metres (8.9 feet) long. Nicknamed the unicorn of
the sea, its tusk is actually the more prominent
of two teeth of the male of the species (although
females can grow a small tusk too). The tusk
grows through the upper lip and some believe
its predominantly to impress females during
mating rituals or to battle o rival males. The
pale-coloured creatures travel in groups of 15 to
20, feeding mainly on sh and shrimp.
Natural lter
35 grooves on the throat
enable the humpback to
gulp and lter water by
extending the throat.
HUMPBACK WHALE
The song of the humpback

These whales are known for
the incredible way in which they
communicate. Their amazing
songs can be heard across
massive distances.
Megaptera novaeangliae
Class Mammalia
LEAST CONCERN
Humpback whale
The oceanic composers
A remarkable creature, the humpback is another colossal baleen whale of the ocean. It
has up to 35 grooves on its throat all the way from the chin to the navel. It can expand the
throat to enable huge intakes of water to then lter in food such as plankton and krill.
Humpbacks are renowned for performing amazing songs that can be heard over great
distances. Thought to be great methods of communication, particularly to attract mates,
the songs are made up of moans, howls, cries and the humpbacks complex noises can
often last hours.
Thinkstock; FLPA

Diet Krill and small sh
59,525lbs
Conservation status
91
92
Humpback whales
SONGS OF THE
HUMPBACK
These melodic symphonies of the sea are among wildlifes greatest
wonders. Exactly why tuneful whale composers create these
underwater serenades is one of the biggest mysteries of the deep
93

There was once a time when the oceans were thought to
be vast expanses of virtual silence, but we gradually began
to realise that our planets water bodies were a cacophony
of aquatic noise. When biologist Roger Payne discovered
the song of the humpback in the late 1960s, everything we
thought we knew changed. Yet, over four decades on, we
still dont know the full story and the whales are keeping
scientists guessing.
Humpbacks are large whales, reaching up to 15 metres
(50 feet) in length. These majestic beasts have long,
tapered bodies with elongated pectoral ns and a short
dorsal n, ending in a large uked tail. Their knobbly heads
have huge jaws to help with their lter-feeding method of
eating. Theyre found in all oceans, but not necessarily all
of the time, because theyre migratory, explains Regina
Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of the North American
Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. They tend to
go to higher latitudes to feed, then to the more-temperate
tropical waters for breeding.
For whales that cruise across whole oceans every
year, tracking them down for study can be tricky. This is
one reason why we dont know much about their social
structures, or their amazing methods of communication.
Like most cetaceans (the group of animals containing
whales and dolphins), humpbacks make grunts, whines
and shrieks. However, their songs have been dubbed as
the most-complex vocalisations in the animal kingdom and
are truly captivating.
[Humpback] song is made up of many sounds that
the whales arrange into long, complex songs each year,
says Dr Ellen Garland, from the National Marine Mammal
Laboratory. Its an acoustic display thats produced by
males. We arent quite sure whether its for attracting
mates or repelling rivals,

but it has something to
do with mating.
The noises that the
whales string into their
eerie performances
are generated as they
force air through their
nasal cavities sort
of like a bagpipe,
Asmutis-Silvia explains.
They produce a lowfrequency sound and
the lower the sound,
the further it will travel,
so they can conceivably
communicate with other
whales that are tens if not
hundreds of miles from them,
she continues. Its kind of like
a mobile phone you can stay
connected with your family even
when you cant see them. The whales
keen hearing means the animals can be in
touch across huge expanses of ocean.
So, why do the males sing at all? It was
thought to happen only in the breeding area or
maybe the shoulder seasons, Asmutis-Silvia continues.
But it seems to be happening year-round, so it has some
function that isnt exclusive to breeding. It may be a
contact call it may have different purposes at different
locations as well. When the males do sing, they seem to
nd one another, as Asmutis-Silvia goes on: [A whale] will
ABOVE Humpback whales adopt a

very specic stance before beginning
their serenades
BELOW The underwater songs have
set patterns, but to impress females,
males will oen vary their tunes
HUMPBACK WHALE
Class Mammalia
Territory Found in all the

worlds oceans
Diet krill, plankton, small sh
Adult weight 40 tons
Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
Their songs have been dubbed as the mostcomplex vocalisations in the animal kingdom
94
Humpback whales
How do whales talk?

Humpbacks use a variety of methods to get in touch with one another, including body
language, as well as a range of clicks, grunts and whistles
Breaching on the surface

Whales may breach to show
dominance or for fun. The
breachs intense sound could
communicate the location
and size of the whale.
The singing stance

Males oen adopt this stance
to sing. They hang in the water
with their heads down, tails bent
and ippers out to the sides.
Whale body language

Gestures such as tail slaps
or lunging are also methods
whereby males can show o
during the mating season.
Other vocal noises

Aside from singing,
humpbacks are known to
vocalise socially with other
noises, including whoops,
barks, grunts and groans.
Potential echolocation noises

Whales feeding at night have been
seen making low clicks and buzzes,
similar to noises made by toothed
whales during echolocation.
sing for a period of time and it seems that at the end of

that singing its the males that will nd one another and
make contact. The song is so melodic and its so eerie. Its
beautiful and it seems peaceful in some respects. There
arent a lot of physical altercations between these males
once they nd one another. The actual activity of mating is
physical, but thats not where the songs are happening.
The males that sing these beautiful harmonies will hang
in the water column, with their heads down and ippers
out, repeating phrases and stringing them together into
recognisable patterns that form the songs for up to
hours at a time. What is interesting is that the males
in a population all sing the same song as one another,
but the pattern of the song changes with time, explains
Dr Garland. All the males make the same changes, so
they keep singing the same pattern as one another even
though that pattern is changing. We think of it as a cultural
trait rather than something thats genetic.
This discovery of a culture within humpback populations
was made by a team including Dr Garland. They studied
the songs recorded from six neighbouring humpback
populations from across the south-western Pacic ocean,
for over a decade. She made some fascinating ndings.
We found songs moved eastwards from one population
to the next, Dr Garland says. The movement was like a
series of cultural ripples spreading across the region.
But how does this happen? Dr Garland and her team

have gured out at least a few answers: Usually the song
contains some older material from the previous year and
then some exciting new stuff, she begins. It would be like
splicing an old Beatles song with U2. Occasionally they
start singing a brand-new song. So in essence all males
sing the same thing at the same time but what they sing
changes either to a completely new song
The song of the humpback

Singing oen happens when
males reach breeding grounds. It
may be to entice females, display
dominance, or contact others.
BELOW Humpback whales will oen

gather together in numbers wherever
food is plentiful
95

Given that the singing is most strongly (yet not exclusively) tied in
with breeding amongst humpback whales, this evolution of songs may
have the benet of impressing female whales with fresh new sounds
to be serenaded by, as well as infuse a bit of individuality for the male
humpback. In human society when new fashions appear, there are a few
savvy people who embrace it and then everyone else quickly follows, Dr
Garland elaborates. We think this male quest for song novelty is in the
hope of being that little bit different and more-attractive to the ladies.
This is then reeled in by the urge to sing the same tune, by the need to
conform, which is the same as with humans when everyone wants to be
the same.
Whatever the whales reasons for composing and performing new
song material year on year, we still have so much to learn about why
they vocalise in such an intricate and beautiful way. These songs are
incredible, but energetically expensive, enthuses Asmutis-Silvia. When
youre making a lot of noise and using up energy, you generally do it
for a purpose. These songs are frequently happening in the breeding
This evolution of songs

may have the benet of
impressing female whales
96
areas where there is very little food available, so it might serve a really
important role for them to use up that energy in a place where theyre not
even sure when theyre going to get their next meal. I think thats one of
the important things to remember when were drowning out these songs
with human impacts.
Unfortunately, drowning them out we sure are. These animals are highly
sensitive, but human impacts such as seismic activity, shipping noise and
sonar are having a derogatory affect on these majestic creatures. A recent
study showed that acoustic stress from activity over 200 kilometres (124
miles) away from the whales caused a decline in singing over a period of
months. Were making it harder for these animals to function, stresses
Asmutis-Silvia. A recent study from the University of Vermont explained
how large whales are really the ecosystem engineers, as well as how their
function and the way they work helps to ght climate change, having
positive impacts on commercially valuable shing populations. So theyre
really important not just because we like whales, but because were part
of the ecosystem.
Humpback whales
Underwater neighbours
Although their songs are heard for miles around, the humpback isnt by any
means the biggest swimmer in the ocean
Grey whale
14m
Humpback whale
Fin whale
Balaenoptera physalus
22m
Harbour porpoise
Phocoena phocoena
1.6m
Minke whale
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
10m
Narwhal
Monodon monoceros
6m (Not including tusk,
which is 2m long)
Blue whale
Balaenoptera musculus
30m
Bottlenose dolphin
Tursiops truncatus
3m
North Pacic right whale

Eubalaena japonica
17m
Sperm whale
Physeter macrocephalus
18m
A humpback calf jumping completely

clear of the waters surface
Alamy, Rex Features, Thinkstock , Hendrik Gheerardyn
Killer whale
Orcinus orca
9m
97
The incredible
journey of the
Humpback
whale
HUMPBACK WHALE
Class Mammalia
Territory All global oceans

Diet Krill, plankton, small sh
Adult weight 40 tonnes
Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
These giants of the

worlds oceans make
equally massive
migrations to ll their
bellies, nd a suitable
mate and care for
their young
Undertaking one of the longest

mammal migrations, humpback
whales make spectacular annual
journeys from their cold summer
feeding grounds, where they gorge
on rich food, to warmer tropical
coasts in the winter, where they mate
and breed.
The humpbacks magnicent
acrobatic displays and complex songs
can be witnessed in their distinct
populations, that are found within all
oceans across the Hemispheres.
In summer, humpbacks spend the
majority of their time feeding and
building up fat stores (blubber) to live

off during winter months. The huge
whales lter feed on tiny crustaceans
like krill and plankton, and small sh
and can eat up to 1,360 kilograms
(3,000 pounds) of food per day.
During the winter, humpbacks
congregate and engage in mating
activities. As polygynous creatures,
male humpbacks exhibit competitive
activities on wintering grounds.
Aggressive behaviours include
chasing, tail-thrashing, bodythrashing and a range of bubble and
vocal displays.
In summer, humpbacks
spend the majority of
their time feeding and
building up fat stores
Survival stats
10,000
km
1,360
2-3
km/h
Thinkstock
The longest recorded

mammal migration a The average speed
female humpback
of the returning
ventured all the way from
humpbacks and
Brazil to Madagascar.
their calves.
98
kg
The amount a
humpback can eat
per day during the
summer, to survive
the winter.
Humpback whales
Greenland sub-population
This sub-population feeds as far
north as west Greenland, Iceland and
north Norway. It spends April through
November in these highly produ ctive
feeding grounds. .
North-Atlantic humpbacks
Sub-populations form on feeding
grounds, including the Gulf of Maine and
eastern Canada. As winter approaches
they make the 2,400-kilometre (1,500mile) trip to the West Indies.
An Alaskan summer
Humpbacks spend
their summers in the
cold waters o Alaska
where food is abundant.
They put on as much as
6,800 kilograms (15,000
pounds) to last the winter.
Pacic ocean
North America
North-east Pacic
Some whales leave
the feeding grounds
in Alaska and head
south. Sometimes
older juveniles will go
on ahead, while senior
whales stay behind.
A tropical winter
Humpbacks can make the
4,830-kilometre (3,000-mile)
journey to Hawaii in as little as 36
days. The lack of predators, warm
waters and underwater visibility
make the islands perfect for
mating and calving.
Atlantic ocean
The West Indies

The most populous breeding area
is along the northern coast of the
Dominican Republic and includes Silver
Bank marine sanctuary.
Divided populations
Some of these subpopulations join the other
humpbacks in the West
Indies, while the rest
move south to the Cape
Verde islands o the
western coast of Africa
to breed.
Africa
South America
Key
Pacic population
West-Atlantic population
East-Atlantic population
Antarctic ocean
99
Blue whale
Meet the fearsome colossal whale whose
throat will only swallow small prey
The blue whale is not only the largest living animal; it is the largest animal ever known to
have lived. Some of the dinosaurs may have come close, but these enormous mammals
reach adult lengths of up to 30 metres (100 feet), and weigh over 150 tons. Even newborn
calves are larger than most other full-grown animals, weighing an incredible 2.7 tons, and
they grow at an astonishing rate, putting on around 90 kilograms (200 pounds) every day
for the rst year.
On land, blue whales would be crushed by the weight of their own bodies, but
suspended beneath the water, their size has been less restricted by the effect of gravity.
Their internal organs are massively scaled up; their heart is the size of a car, and their
tongue weighs as much as the largest living land animal, the African elephant. Their
enormous size enables blue whales to make incredible low-frequency rumbling noises that
can be heard up to 1,600 kilometres (1,000 miles) away, making them the loudest animals
on the planet.
The blue whale has a huge mouth, with a tongue large enough for 50 people to stand
on it, but their throats only allow them to swallow objects the size of a beach ball. The
majority of their diet is krill and like the worlds largest sh, the whale shark, the blue whale
is a lter feeder. It has large ngernail-like baleen plates lining its upper jaw, and feeds
by taking in a mouthful of water and then forcing it through the plates using its muscular
tongue, trapping the krill. At the richest feeding times of the year, a single individual can
eat up to 3.6 tons of krill every day.
Length
Weight
How big?
100
1 blue whale = 130 family cars
1 blue whale = 2.5 doubledecker buses
BLUE WHALE
Balaenoptera musculus
Class Mammalia
Territory All oceans except

the Arctic
Diet Omnivore
Adult weight Up to 200tn
Conservation Status
ENDANGERED
Dorsal n
Despite their large body
size, the dorsal n of a blue
whale can be as small as
8cm (3.1in) long.
Blue whale
The blue whale is not
only the largest living
animal; it is the largest
animal ever to have lived
Baleen plates
Over 300 baleen plates line
the blue whales upper jaw,
each measuring 1m (3.3)
in length.
Small but powerful

It uses its ns to help
glide through the water
at speeds of up to
50km/h (31mph).
Ventral pleats
Grooves running along
the throat allow the skin
to expand as the whale
takes in water.
Big eyes
The blue whales eye is
over six times the size of
a humans eye, at around
15cm (6in) wide.
101
Gray whale
A barnacle-encrusted gray whale is trapped
by an early freeze up off the coast of Alaska
Michio Hoshino/FLPA
The gray whale is one of largest predators of

the oceans at a whopping 36 tonnes. These
sea-bound behemoths are usually covered
in parasites that transform their hides into
something resembling a weathered ocean
rock rather than the skin of an animal. This
doesnt harm the animal though in fact, its
a symbiotic relationshop where the whale
as well as the barnacle benets. For the
whale, the barnacles act as a suit of armour,
102
and as the barnacles eat plankton just like

the whale, they often benet from a free
meal whenever the whale swims through
plankton-lled waters in order to feed.
The gray whale is a baleen whale, meaning
that they do not have teeth and eat through
lter feeding. They use their snouts to forage
for food on the seaoor, using special lterlike plates in the upper jaw to strain out the
suitable nutrition.
Gray whales
The barnacles dont harm
the animal though in fact,
its a symbiotic relationshop
where the whale as well as
the barnacle benets
GRAY WHALE
Class Mammalia
Territory Coastal North Pacic

Diet Amphipods and other
small sea oor dwellers
77,162lbs
Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
103
Battle of
the deep
The underwater war between the
giant squid and sperm whale
With the clash of two gigantic ocean-dwelling beasts,
you might expect resulting tidal waves. However, this is
one grudge match that happens almost entirely in secret.
Sperm whales are partial to a giant-squid supper, but the
tentacled titans of the deep refuse to go down without
a ght. In the murky blackness beneath the waves, away
from human eyes, these amazing and all-too-elusive
marine monsters battle it out for survival.
Rugged sucker scars

Many sperm whales have been
found with battle scars from the
giant squid their toothy suckers
leave circular marks on the
whales bodies. Sometimes these
are the size of dinner plates.
Indigestible parts
Searching for
a giant squid
Name: Dr Edith Widder Organisation: CEO &
senior scientist, Ocean Research & Conservation
Association, Inc.
On 3 July 2012, Dr Widder was
among the rst to witness the
giant squid in its natural habitat
Initially we just saw its arms,
which seemed to be waving in
front of the camera. My lure had
attracted it. It came in from the
back or the side as it probed
around the lure, trying to nd something edible.
It was thrilling on many levels rst because so
many before had tried and failed [to spot one] but
also because it was conrmation of something Ive
been saying for quite a while now: that I think we
have been exploring the deep sea the wrong way.
Our use of ROVs [remote operated underwater
vehicles] with bright lights and noisy thrusters have
been scaring animals away.
With feeding tentacles fully extended, the giant
squid can be as tall as a four-storey house. Its
incredible that there are animals that big living in
the ocean probably millions of them judging by the
number of giant squid beaks found in sperm whale
stomachs and weve never seen one alive. How
many more creatures inhabit our deep oceans that
we dont even know about yet?
104
The only part of the

squid that the whale
cannot eat is the beak.
These have often been
found left in the bellies
of whales.
The food of choice

Sperm whales feed on other, smaller
varieties of squid, so its thought
the giant squid is a supplementary
bonus to a whales diet.
A size match
A sperm whale can grow up to
18 metres (59 feet) in length and
the giant squid is an adequate
competitor, with strong tentacles
that stretch the squids body up to
12 metres (43 feet).
Battle at depth
Sperm whales are known to dive to
around 1,980 metres (6,500 feet) into
the dark realms of the giant squid,
meaning these battles take place in
very deep water.
Giant squid vs sperm whale

Although never observed feeding, the stomach contents
of the giant squid reveal a lot about its diet
Deep-sea orange roughy
Stealing marlin from shermen
Resorting to cannibalism
The giant squid tucks into the deep-water

sh orange roughy, as well as many other
different species that live deep in the depths,
to supplement its diet.
Giant squid have been known to steal massive

marlin from shermens nets. The predatory
sh are apex predators, often exceeding
lengths of four metres and speeds of 60mph.
The mighty giant squid even resorts to

cannibalism, where opposing squid rip off and
ingest tentacles of their opponent. Amazingly,
these tentacles can grow back.
Toothy suckers
The squids large suckers
are lined with chitin teeth,
enabling them to grip their
adversarys skin tightly and
dig in the teeth.
Daniel Sinoca, Thinkstock, Ocean

Research & Conservation Association Inc
Food of giants
With feeding tentacles fully

extended, the giant squid can
be as tall as a four-storey house
The squids beak

In the centre of its ring of arms is a beak, like
that of a parrot. The squid uses this to chop
and slice its prey.
Biggest eyes on Earth

The giant squids huge peepers enable it to see
large objects far off in the distance, which can
enable a swift getaway from sperm whales on
the hunt.
Scanning the ocean

Sperm whales use echolocation,
similar to that used by bats and
dolphins, to locate their prey in
the depths of the ocean.
Lungs of steel
In order to reach such amazing depths
and win epic battles, the whales can
hold their breath for up to 90 minutes.
105
MIMIC
OCTOPUS
The fascinating mimic octopus avoids many a danger lurking
under the water with an unbelievably clever trick
While other octopus species change their appearance
to blend into the background, the mimic octopus is the
only animal that can mimic specic animals. Even more
impressively, it is the rst species found to mimic more
than one species of poisonous animal to avoid predators.
It was only discovered in 1998, but its not surprising that it
stayed hidden for so long. This clever octopus changes its

appearance to that of a different animal according to what
is threatening it, taking on the appearance of an animal from
which its attacker would ee. Scientists are still working hard
to nd out more about the mimic octopus, but what we know
so far is almost beyond belief.
Nucleus
How they can

change their colour
Octopuses have pigment sacs in their skin called
chromatophores. These are linked to the visual part
of the brain and can be controlled by the octopus at
will. Chromatophores can expand to 50 times their
size, making the skin appear a lighter colour, or they
can shrink to their condensed size to make the skin
appear darker. This is how an octopus can change its
colour or form patterns on its skin.
106
Pigmant
granules
Glial cell
Mimic octopuses
VS
REAL
Muscles at the skins

surface turns skin texture
from smooth to spiny. This
helps octopuses match
their background perfectly
and become almost
undetectable. If all else
fails, the octopus can swim
away and release a cloud
of ink to cover its escape.
Retractor muscles
LIONFISH
Erector muscles
Skin
Eerector muscles contract, pulling

skin into a new shape and retractor
muscles relax, drawing up the skin.
MANTIS
SHRIMP
Erectors then contract tightly to

elongate the octopuss skin upwards
while retractors remain relaxed.
FLAT
FISH
At this stage, erectors create skin

texture, by expanding the shapes
and areas of the individual muscles.
To atten down again, retractors

work by contracting, pulling the
octopuss skin at once more.
107
Getty, Peters and Zabransky, Thinkstock
FAKE
How their skin

muscles work
Meet the family
Rays
These sly hunters are perfectly

adapted to their habitat
Spotted eagle ray
SPOTTED EAGLE RAY

Aetobatus narinari
The ray that can almost take off
Territory Tropical coastal

waters worldwide
Diet Molluscs and crustaceans
Lifespan Unknown
Adult weight Up to 230kg /
507lbs
Conservation Status
The group of species known as eagle rays have large

and elegant pectoral ns that both look and move
like the wings on a bird. Found in shallow coastal
seas, these ns are mostly used for swimming, but on
occasion these rays have been witnessed leaping fully
out of the water in spectacular aerial displays. Due
to their sheer size and weight, spotted eagle rays are
rarely preyed upon by all but the largest of beasts.
Digging their own food of hard-shelled critters such
as lobsters and oysters out of the seabed is easy for
the spotted eagle, with their shovel-shaped noses and
specialised teeth making it easy to extract the tasty
parts from the shells.
NEAR THREATENED
Electrocytes are the electricityproducing cells that give these rays

their shock they are stacked up
end-to-end in the rays specialised
electrogenic organs, much like a row
of batteries.
Cownose ray
The migratory species that
gathers in groups
Cownose rays are famous for their ocean migrations
along the Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico, featuring
in many glossy photographs of schools of up to 10,000
individuals swimming to and from the seasonal feeding
grounds. Its thought that these rays take temperature
cues from the water and visual cues from the sun
before embarking on these journeys, and
when they get to their destination, theres
only one thing to do: feast. By beating their
pectoral ns, they create strong currents close
The cownose ray has a domed head and a rounded
snout with an indentation in the centre. This gives
to the seabed in a bid to uncover their prey.
COWNOSE RAY
Rhinoptera bonasus
Territory Tropical eastern and

western Atlantic Ocean
Diet Oysters and crustaceans
Adult weight Approx 15.4kg
/ 34lbs
Conservation Status
NEAR THREATENED
the appearance of a bi-lobed nose, much like that of

their farmyard namesakes.
Stingray
A sh with a black belt in self-defence
COMMON STINGRAY
Dasyatis pastinaca
Territory Coastal waters of

temperate seas
Diet Crabs, mussels, oysters
790lbs
Conservation Status
DATA DEFICIENT
108
Stingrays have the classic at-bodied silhouette

of the ray family, with a skeleton made of
cartilage, undulating ns and a long, tapering
tail. They spend their time cruising through
the shallow waters of coastal seas, feeding
on shelled molluscs and crustaceans, rooting
around on the seabed in search of their dinner.
However, this species trump card is its tail
barb the thing that puts the sting into
stingray. This barb is found about one third
of the way down a stingrays tail, and it can be
a formidable-looking spike containing potent
venom. Stingrays are generally docile creatures
and so a barb attack is almost always in selfdefence when the ray needs to ght, the tail
can whip up and deliver a fatal blow.
Like their cousins the sharks,

stingrays possess electrical sensors
known as ampullae of Lorenzini.
They can sense the natural electrical
pulse of living things around them,
helping to nd prey.
Rays
3
Torpedo nobiliana
Atlantic
torpedo ray
This species puts on a stunning performance

Territory Atlantic Ocean,
Mediterranean Sea
Diet Small sharks, ounder,
mackerel
Lifespan Unknown, likely
16-20 years
Adult weight 90kg / 198lbs
Conservation Status
DATA DEFICIENT
This is a ray that really lives up to its superhero-style moniker. Not just
your average sh, this particular member of the ray family is capable of
producing strong electric currents in order to stun prey for a quick meal,
or defend its honour against encroaching predators. Electric rays have
two kidney-shaped organs in their bodies, situated near the gills, which
are capable of producing a current of up to 220 volts. They do this by
contracting the specialised muscles that are tightly packed together within
these electrogenic organs. Because of this formidable party trick, electric
rays are able to swiftly stun and then feast upon dinner delights that
would ordinarily be too fast for them to catch.
Its easy to see why this sh is also

known as the peacock-eye ray like
the eyed feather of a peacock, the
detailed pattern on its back can act as
a decoy for would-be predators.
OCELLATE RIVER RAY

Potamotrygon motoro
Ocellate river ray

The freshwater addition to the family
Territory Southern South

America
Diet Small molluscs,
crustaceans and insect larvae
Lifespan Unknown
74lbs
Conservation Status
DATA DEFICIENT
Where most of the ray family are ocean-dwelling critters, there are a few
select members that make their home in the fresh water of river basins.
The ocellate river ray is one of these, living in the riverine systems of South
America. Looking like a at, circular pancake with a long spined tail and
prominent eyes, this ray lies at the bottom of sand banks and silty
river bottoms in wait for tasty prey to come along. When
lying on a sandy riverbed, their gills and mouths on the
underside of the body cant be used, so the ray (like many
other ray species) takes in water to pass over the
gills through a special opening known as a spiracle,
situated behind each eye.
MANTA RAY
Manta birostris
Manta ray
These gentle giants are
the largest rays of them all
Territory Tropical seas

worldwide
Diet Plankton
Lifespan Unknown, thought
to be 50100 years
Adult weight Up to 1,350kg /
2,976lbs
Conservation Status
VULNERABLE
The colossal manta ray is one of the oceans biggest

softies. Its huge size might look daunting with its huge
ns that could comfortably cover your family car, but these
creatures are of no threat to humans whatsoever. Manta rays feed
by opening their large mouths and drawing in seawater. They lter all
of the tiny microorganisms out of each liquid mouthful one full-grown
manta can suck down 27kg/60lbs of food in one day!
There are two species of manta ray. One is proportionately smaller and
lives on tropical reefs. The other is more migratory and travels from one
area of oceanic upwelling to another in search of plankton.
2
1. Most
intelligent
Manta ray
3. Rarest
Maltese ray
Manta rays have

the largest brain
size relative to
body mass of all
sh species and
often exhibit cooperative and coordinated feeding
behaviour. Manta
rays are much
more than just
pretty faces.
2. Smallest
Lesser electric ray
This tiny little
critter can be
found in shallow
waters on the
east coast of
USA and South
America and
in the Gulf of
Mexico. It is on
average just
20cm/8 across
and weighs about
0.5kg/1lb.
Listed as Critically
Endangered by
the IUCN Red
List, the Maltese
ray was once
common in the
Mediterranean
Sea. It is now
restricted to the
Sicilian channel
around Malta,
and is blighted by
heavy trawling.
4. Most
spectacular
Mobula ray
Mobula rays
gather in huge
shoals at certain
times of the year.
To stand out
from the crowd,
they launch
themselves into
the air and land
on the water with
a resounding
boom noise.
The manta is sometimes known

as devil ray, due to the two large
ns on its head that look like horns.
These are actually used to guide
plankton-rich water into the mouth
while feeding.
A buttery
ray is not
an insect
Buttery rays are not at all related to real
butteries! Instead, this group of rays get their
name from their wide set of pectoral ns that
look very much like wings, along with their
short sharp tails that resemble a butterys
body. The rays use their strong ns to y
through the water, mimicking a slowmo
version of a wing utter.
Thinkstock;
Thinkstock; Dreamstime
FLPA
ATLANTIC TORPEDO
RAY
The majestic wing-like

ns are characteristic of
eagle rays as a group, but
the spotted eagle ray is
even more distinctive with
its beautiful colouration
and polka-dot pattern.
109
BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN
Tursiops truncatus
Class Mammalia
Territory Global
Diet Fish and squid
Lifespan 50 years
Adult weight 500kg (1100lb)
Conservation status
LEAST CONCERN
110
Dolphins
SMARTEST
ANIMALS
ON
EARTH
Famous for their ability to learn and mimic human
behaviour, the real story behind the immense intelligence
of dolphins lies in their astounding wild behaviour
Whales and dolphins have fascinated human
beings for millennia, with dolphins featuring in
cave paintings dating back almost 3,000 years.
The rst descriptions of dolphins came from
sailors, who spoke of enormous creatures with
large eyes, long beaks and sharp teeth. Artistic
depictions of them at the time looked more like
sea monsters, admiring their strength and cunning
hunting techniques. Over the years, humans
soon discovered that dolphins were intelligent

mammals of the sea and began to study them.
As technology developed that could record
their underwater calls, scientists began to realise
how complex their behaviour and communication
truly was. Exactly what dolphins are speaking
about is still unclear, but as research progresses
we are learning more and more about the most
intelligent animals in the ocean.
111
Communication
Dolphins stay in contact at all times, constantly chirping and clicking to one
another about sources of food, group life and the threat from predators
Living under water means that dolphin
communication works extremely differently
from animals that live on land. Sound is the
basis of almost all dolphin interactions and
the exact information different noises contain
is still a mystery to marine biologists. Staying
in contact is crucial for dolphin survival and
their social intelligence has developed over
thousands of years of evolution.
Each dolphin makes a unique whistle sound
that acts as a name tag. Dolphins introduce
themselves to others around them and
recognise one another by these signature

sounds. Closely bonded dolphins even mimic
one anothers whistles, which is like calling out
for a friend by name.
The dominant form of communication in
primates is through sound, but the primary
sense of apes and monkeys is visual. Scientists
now think that dolphin communication is
more efcient than our own, because they
can replicate any sound that they hear.
These animals build up mental pictures of
the environment using biological sonar and
Social
networking
Dolphin groups have a
very uid social structure, with
smaller groups constantly combining
and splitting up again. This means that
they can meet hundreds of others on a
daily basis. This has been likened to social
networking, with dolphins maintaining lots
of weak bonds with others they have met
briey in the past. The networks that build
up help transfer information over long
distances and work just like Facebook.
News is transferred through
friends of friends and means
that dolphins can stay
in touch.
How dolphins
speak to
one another
All the sounds a dolphin makes
come from the blowhole. By
forcing air out between the
powerful muscles that keep the
blowhole sealed under water,
they can create an enormous
variety of unique sounds,
from simple clicks to complex
whistles and buzzes.
112
Clicks
Dolphins emit very short, high-pitched snaps
of sound at regular intervals
Buzzes
Associated with surges of emotion, dolphins
create buzzes when excited or angry
Whistles
These owing sounds are individual name
tags to help dolphins recognise one another
they might be able to project these pictures

to others, like a hologram. This surpasses the
amount of information humans can convey with
speech and dolphin conversations could be up
to 20-times more detailed than that of apes
and other primates.
Not all dolphin communication is based on
sound, though, after arriving and before leaving
a group they touch each other. Even altering
their posture while swimming is a form of
communication and a dolphin can invite others
to play by wriggling its body.
Dolphins
Proving
self-awareness
Bottlenose
dolphins have
been seen
to recognise
themselves in
the mirror!
Dr Diana Reiss is a world-renowned

dolphin expert. She led the team
that proved dolphins can recognise
themselves in a mirror
At my lab in 2001
I did a study with
a very simple
design. Youre
asking if a dolphin
understands that
what they see in
the mirror is an
external representation of themselves.
We exposed dolphins to a mirror and
we gave them time to learn about how
mirrors work. We saw three basic
stages the animals went through
to show that they could recognise
themselves. The rst stage we call
social behaviour. The animals try to
touch the mirror, look around behind
it as if theres another dolphin there.
When seeing their reection they
reacted as if they were seeing another
of their own kind. Most animals never
get past this stage.
The second stage we saw emerging
was more than just testing the mirror.
The animals seemed to be testing
what was happening in the mirror
image when they did certain things.
That is when the light bulb went on.
Thats when they knew that they were
seeing themselves in the mirror.
In the third stage, the animals
shied to self-directed behaviour. They
examined themselves in the mirror,
looking at parts of their body that were
otherwise not visible. They looked at
their eyes, inside their mouths and
made unusual movements in front of
the mirror. They were using the mirror
as a tool to view themselves.
We went on to do whats called a
mark test. We put the mirror into the
water for 30 minutes every few days
and watched the behaviour of the
dolphins. We then called them over
and marked their bodies in dierent
places with a non-toxic marker. They
immediately raced to the mirror to
examine the marked area.
Just like us
As humans, we tend to underestimate other animals, believing our behaviour is unique
to us. But dolphins share a few of our traits, showing some extreme intelligence
Dolphins can eavesdrop
Dolphins can deceive each other
Dolphins have communication abilities that were

once thought to be unique to humans. Their
ability to eavesdrop gives us a clue as to how
clever dolphins are. Not only can they listen in to
other conversations, but they can also divide their
attention between their own vocalisations and
other sounds at the same time. This maximises the
information they are taking in.
The ability to follow another animals gaze shows

immense intelligence and human children begin
to develop this skill after the rst year of life.
Dolphins use this skill to tell what others are looking
at without needing to communicate about it.
Dolphins can draw anothers attention to an object
by pointing at it. In fact, these mammals can even
deceive one another by directing it elsewhere.
113
Emotional intelligence
Feelings of happiness, love and heartbreak are
human concepts but these animals share our
ability to feel emotion
These animals form extremely close bonds with
their families and experience emotions that
humans might call love. Newborn dolphins rely
on their mothers and older siblings for survival
and calves stay with their family for around six
years. When a relative dies, dolphins experience
grief and mother dolphins carry their lost calves
around with them for extended periods of time.
Young that have lost their mother are known to
visit their mothers favourite locations after her
death. When a dolphin group spies a dolphin
carcass they approach it and even take it in turns
to surface for a breath of air so the corpse isnt
left unattended.
Dolphins are famous for their tendency to
help animals of other species. There are reports
of dolphins helping exhausted seals back to
shore and even leading beached whales back to
the safety of deep water. In 2008, a bottlenose
dolphin arrived at the scene of a stranded mothercalf pair of pygmy sperm whales on a beach in
New Zealand. The dolphin, known by locals as
Moko, led the pair of whales from the shallows
directly into deeper water. The only explanation
of this behaviour is that dolphins are capable of
experiencing empathy.
Young that have lost their

mother are known to visit
their mothers favourite
locations after her death
114
EQ level
What is EQ?
Encephalisation quotient is a
comparison of the size of an
animals brain and its overall
body size dolphins have an
extremely high score
Dolphins
Problem-solving
Life presents animals with puzzles on a daily basis and only animals
with the best brains can nd their way around the trickiest problems
01 Tool use
02 Hunting
03 Avoiding predators
Dolphins around the coast of Australia have

started to use tools to protect their sensitive
beaks. The sh that burrow under the sand
dont have an air-lled swim bladder, making
them difcult to locate with sonar. To combat
this, the dolphins began foraging while
shielding their faces with sponges.
Across the globe, different groups of dolphins

have perfected a variety of strategies to catch
sh. In Brazil, a pod of dolphins has teamed
up with the local shermen. They herd sh
toward the shore and give the shermen a
signal to cast their nets. The dolphins then
get their reward of leftover sh.
Dolphins form a defensive circle around

weak members of their pod when a predator
approaches. Sharks and other carnivorous sh
would gladly attack a lone dolphin, but rarely
approach large groups. Even the colouration
of some dolphins confuses predators, helping
them keep camouaged.
How dolphins hunt

Creativity shows how intelligence and brainy dolphins
have invented unique ways to catch sh
Herding sh
Deep-water dolphins herd
sh into a ball and take
turns to swim through
the middle. They stay in
constant contact and swim
at top speed to keep the
sh where they want them.
Confusing the prey
Makeshift nets
One dolphin swims in a circle

while beating its tail against the
silt. This creates a ring of mud
that confuses the sh inside.
The rest of the group wait for sh to

leap out of the makeshift net.
Blowing bubbles
The dolphins surrounding the
sh create nets of bubbles.
Going on land!
Risking their lives to catch sh,
dolphins chase sh to the banks of
rivers and seashores. The animals
launch themselves out of the
water to snatch the escaping sh.
The art of hydroplaning

Speeding through shallow water
allows dolphins to access sh that
swim close to the shore. This is called
hydroplaning and the dolphin skims
along in the shallow surf at high speed.
115
How dolphins think

Their complex brain fuels the animal to process information,
store memories and solve puzzles
The emotional centre of a dolphins brain is
more complex than in a human brain. It has
a larger surface area and more folds, which
indicates that their brains have evolved to
process emotion.
Whale and dolphin brains also contain
specialised nerve cells called spindle
neurons. These cells are associated with
the ability to reason, experience emotions
and make quick decisions. These were
once thought to be possessed only by
humans and were even nicknamed the
cells that make us human. Whats more,
dolphins have three-times as many of
these cells as humans do, even when
accounting for their larger brain size. Not
only do dolphins and their relatives have
these spindle cells, but they have also had
them for twice as long as humans.
Along with this amazing brainpower,

dolphins have one of the longest memories
of the entire animal kingdom. Even if
dolphins are separated for 20 years, they
are still able to remember a familiar face.
This was noted in aquaria in the United
States, when dolphins that had been
briey housed together at the age of only
six months old were played audio of one
anothers signature whistles. Upon hearing
the familiar call they instantly responded,
whereas an unfamiliar call is often ignored.
Dolphins also have good short term
memory and can remember lists of
items. Some dolphins are even able to
understand sentences of human speech.
Dolphins in a 1993 study could remember
strings of up to ve words and responded
to what the human was asking for.
Dolphins in a 1993 study could remember

string of up to ve words and responded
to what the human was asking for
Dolphin and human

brains compared
Dolphin brains are larger than human
brains, but have the exact same areas and
components. The wrinkled surface of the brain
is called the cortex and in whales and dolphins
this layer has more folds than in humans. This
points to extreme intelligence and the dolphin
brain has evolved perfectly to help them
survive the seas.
RIGHT The
muscular dolphin
is capable of
some truly
incredible
acrobatics in and
out of the water
116
Dolphins
Dolphins have one of the

longest memories of the
entire animal kingdom
ABOVE Its no wonder that

dolphins are such a popular
animal their cheeky grin is
very infectious
117
Spotters guide
Bottlenose dolphins
See natures greatest acrobats in their natural
habitat in almost any ocean around the world
Bottlenose dolphins can be found in
almost every ocean. They generally live in
coastal waters and can even be spotted
from beaches. Bottlenose dolphins can be
seen at all times of the year, but tend to
be most abundant in the warmer months
when they give birth to calves.
From Scotlands Moray Firth to the tip of
South Africa, these animals are distributed
worldwide. They can be seen from land
regularly, but spotters may want to take a
specic tour to see them up close. Those
taking a dolphin-watching cruise should
wrap up warm because it gets extremely
cold out on the water. Taking a camera
is always a good idea to capture playful
dolphins in mid-air.
Dolphins are also known for riding in
the waves a boat creates. This is called
bow-riding and leaping through the freshly

churned water is a dolphins equivalent
of surng. Taking a boat trip through a
well-known dolphin area is likely to attract
some animals, although its often best to
leave the boat operation to the experts.
Notoriously playful and curious,
bottlenose dolphins are known to
approach swimmers. Those looking for
an up-close experience can swim, snorkel
or even SCUBA dive in dolphin territory.
But remember they are still wild animals,
and are still equipped with a row of sharp
teeth and a muscular body. Its always best
to do a trip like this with an experienced
company to make sure swimmers are
safe at all times. Wild dolphins should not
be approached or pursued, but are quite
likely to inspect people in the water.
BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN
Tursiops truncatus
Class Mammalia

temperate waters
Diet Fish
Adult weight 500kg (1100lb)
Conservation Status
LEAST CONCERN
5 places around the

world to see dolphins
AK Wildlife Cruises, UK
www.akwildlifecruises.co.uk
Operating all year round, this company spots
dolphins, whales and seals on a regular basis.
Newport Landing Whale Watching, USA
www.newportwhales.com
Operating from Long Beach California,
spotters can take tours by boat or by plane.
Dolphin Watch Cruises, Australia
www.dolphinwatch.com.au
Leaving from Jervis Bay in southern Australia,
these 90 minute trips provide cover from the sun.
Dolphin Swims, Egypt
www.dolphinswims.co.uk
This company take snorkellers out to dolphin areas
for the chance to swim with the wild animals.
Advantage Tours, South Africa
www.advantagetours.co.za
See dolphins and humpback whales o the western
coast of South Africa, or even take a hippo tour.
Bottlenose dolphin range
Alamy
Notoriously playful and

curious, bottlenose
dolphins are known to
approach swimmers
118
Bottlenose dolphins
Expert advice, the best chance to see a bottlenose
Cornwall-based AK Wildlife Cruises Captain Keith Leeves
takes spotters out to see dolphins all year round.
Are there any telltale signs that
dolphins are in the water?
We always look for birds, they are a
great indicator of dolphin presence.
Fast travelling dolphins will make
a lot of white water and splash around, so look out for
disturbances in the water. On a calm sunny day, look
out for a glint of light bouncing o an animals smooth
wet skin.
How much can spotters interact with dolphins?
Quite a lot, depending on the animals. They are playful
and inquisitive and if they come toward your boat then
thats the animals choosing to interact with you. There
have been studies indicating that high pitched voices
excite dolphins and may even attract them.
Should spotters feed wild dolphins?
No. There is always a risk that dolphins could become
dependent on being fed by humans. Its not like putting
a bird feeder out in your garden, big marine mammals
shouldnt be fed. It would be lovely to be able to feed
these animals, but we really cant condone it.
What advice can you give to readers who want to
see dolphins where they live?
If you can nd a dedicated operator, go
out with them. Not only for their
knowledge of the animal but also the vast experience

behind the operators can really help. One can never
guarantee a wildlife sighting.
What should dolphin spotters wear?
Even in hot places and during the summer it can be
much cooler oshore. Always take plenty of layers,
waterproofs, hats and gloves. Take good pair of
binoculars or a camera and in the summer take plenty
of sun cream. In the sun you do get a lot of glare and
polarised sunglasses will help you see animals through
the water.
Can you describe what an average bottlenose dolphin
sighting is like?
They love nothing more than showing o and playing
and oen do incredibly high jumps. They might keep
their distance and we never infringe on that. There
are occasions when they will come rushing over to
say hello and bottlenose dolphins in particular are
extremely playful.
What are the best dolphin-spotting weather conditions?
Flat, calm sea is just perfect so you can see their ns.
If theres anything going on you cant miss it. Sunshine
isnt always the best because of glare. An overcast day
is an excellent day to go out, oen providing the best
sighting conditions.
Bottlenose dolphins
generally swim in
groups of ten to 25
119
Atlantic
blue marlin
One of the fastest sh in the ocean, this
ferocious sh is armed with a dagger to warn
away predators and intimidate inferiors
Named after its preference for deep,
open ocean, the Alantic blue marlin
can be found at depths of over
400 metres (1,300 feet), though
typically it doesnt stray below
200 metres (650 feet). The only
predators a marlin has to fear are
large oceanic sharks like the tiger
shark, and the humans that seek to
hook it. Menacing hooks attached to
oats snake behind shing vessels,
even through the night when the
marlin spends most of its time at the
surface. They are attracted to the bait
and get caught, even if they arent
the sherys target species.
Its a tough life being a large sh,
but thankfully the marlin has a notso-secret weapon. The long, pointed
rostrum or beak helps the sh secure
a meal. Research shows that these

marlins eat over 45 different prey
species, and around 40 per-cent of
prey sustain injuries from the sharp
spear. More than 80 per-cent of
those received slashing injuries and
almost 10 per-cent were sliced in
two. Marlins tend to spear prey and
then shake their head violently before
engulng their meal, especially when
hunting fast-swimming shoaling
sh. Slow-moving, solitary
prey doesnt usually
require impaling, and
is simply attacked
out of the
blue.
ALTANTIC BLUE MARLIN

Makaira nigricans
Class Actinopterygii
Territory The Atlantic ocean

Diet Bony sh and squid
Lifespan 15 years
Adult weight Up to 818 kg
(1,803 lb)
Conservation Status
3 things you
need to know
about marlins
VULNERABLE
Stripes
Billshes, like the blue marlin,
have the ability to rapidly
change the colour of the
stripes along their sides. This
could be to startle predators
or be invisible to prey.
Females are up to four times

as large as males, and all
trophy catches are females
A blue marlin can travel
5,556 kilometres (3,000
nautical miles) in a mere
90 days
Thinkstock
Marlins have an organ that

keeps its eyes and brain
warm to help it see and think
as clearly as possible
120
Atlantic blue marlin

Low odds
Only around
one per-cent of
marlin eggs make it to
adulthood, with the
rest being eaten
by plankton
feeders.
Spine
Marlins have 24 vertebrae in
the spine, which help them
reach swimming speeds
of up to 97 kilometres (60
miles) per hour.
Bill
The sharp bill is essentially
the marlins shing rod. It
uses it to spear fast-moving
sh, up to 75 per-cent of
which is skipjack tuna
Eyes
Marlin vision is excellent, and
research even suggests they
can detect limited colour. Their
lenses block out ultraviolet
light, making them blind to
their own UV shimmer.
Microscopic to monstrous
Its dicult to believe the enormous blue marlin begins life
as a tiny speck, oating helplessly through the ocean
Altantic marlins are known as broadcast spawners. This means
that a female releases several million unfertilised eggs into the
water column while a male injects the water with sperm. The
one-millimetre (0.04-inch) eggs are fertilised in the open water
and take around a week to hatch. It then takes up to four years for
the sh to reach maturity, all the while looking very dierent from
its adult form.
Pectoral Fins
The best way to tell the
dierence between a marlin
and a swordsh is to look at
the pectoral ns. Marlin ns
are small, but swordsh ns
extend far below the body.
Marlin egg
Marlin eggs oat free as plankton,
and their sheer numbers ensure at
least a few survive to adulthood.
Adolescent marlin
Though still measuring only 22 millimetres (0.9 inches), the sh is
recogniseable as a marlin.
FLPA
Marlins tend to spear their prey

and then shake their head violently
before engulng their meal
Marlin fry
Only 12 millimetres (half an inch)
long, this tiny larva grows to reach
up to four metres (14 feet).
121
122
Saltwater crocodiles
All About
The seas most unexpected predator,
discover how the most aggressive crocodile
became such a lethally effective predator
123
Anatomy of the worlds largest reptile

Saltwater crocodiles are extremely successful
predators thanks to their bony armour, powerful
muscularity and an incredible bite force that
enables them to overwhelm even large prey
SALTWATER
CROCODILE
Crocodylus porosus
Class Reptilia
Territory Indo-Pacic coasts

Diet Carnivore
Adult weight 400-1,000kg /
880-2,200lbs
Conservation status
Hard palate
A ap at the back of
the hard palate enables
the crocodile to open
Trachea
its mouth underwater
The crocodiles
without drowning, by windpipe is supported
stopping water getting
by rigid rings of
to the nose and lungs.
cartilage, preventing
it from being crushed
as they swallow large
mouthfuls of meat.
Snout
LEAST CONCERN
Nictitating membrane
Crocodiles have translucent third
eyelids, which move horizontally
across the eyeball, protecting
their eyes underwater while still
enabling them to see.
Nostrils
The nostrils and eye sockets
are positioned on the top
of the skull, enabling the
crocodile to breathe and
see even when partially
submerged in the water.
Eye socket
Horny scales
Square, at scales on the
underside of the crocodile
enable it to move smoothly
across the ground. This
provides the tail with a large
surface area for swimming
and lunging at prey.
Mandible
Scale disposition
Transversal
rows
Longitudinal
rows
Collar
scales
Short limbs
Interlocking
teeth
Collar
Ventral
scales
without
holes
have short limbs and
when on land tend to
crawl on their bellies.
Bottom
scales of
the tail
124
Lateral
scales of
the tail
JUVENILE
INFANCY
Determining gender
Pre-hatching
The sex of a newly hatched
crocodile is determined by the
temperature of the nest.
Heart
The crocodile has a
second aorta, enabling
it to divert acidic
Webbed
Lungs
deoxygenated blood
feet
Crocodiles use their
to the stomach and
lungs as a buoyancy
helping to produce
aid and swallow
more stomach acid.
stones for ballast.
This helps them to
manoeuvre easier
when underwater.
Hatching 0 Days
When crocodiles hatch, they cry
to attract the attention of their
mother, who digs up her young
and carries them to the water.
Learning to swim
0-8 months
Young crocodiles stay close to one
another for two to eight months,
until they grow larger.
Separation 8 months
As the young grow they begin
to move farther away, but most
remain within ve kilometres (3.1
miles) of the nest site.
MATURITY
Competition for space
1-10 years
Smaller crocs cant compete
for the best territory, so are
vulnerable to stronger rivals.
Sexual maturity females

12-14 years
Once they reach maturity,
females will lay an average of
40 to 60 eggs every year.
Closest family
Bite force
Closely related to the saltwater crocodile are
Nile crocodile
The Nile crocodile is
the second largest
reptile in the world,
measuring up to
six metres (20 feet)
in length. These
creatures are apex
predators and capable
of attacking prey as
large as young hippo.
Mugger crocodile
Found in the Indian
subcontinent, the
mugger is a heavily
armoured crocodile.
Despite measuring
up to four metres (13
feet), muggers prefer
smaller prey to the
saltwater, feeding on
sh, turtles and birds.
Liver
The saltwater has the

highest bite force of any
crocodile, with up 2,410
megapascals (350,000
pounds per square inch).
American alligator
Crocodiles have a
V-shaped snout and
when their mouths
are closed, both rows
of teeth are visible.
Alligators have shorter
U-shaped snouts with
a huge bite force and
their upper jaw hides
the lower teeth.
Pancreas
Dermal pressure
receptors
Sensory pits in the
scales on a crocodiles
head enable it to detect
slight changes in water
pressure. This means the
creature can even hunt in
murky water.
Lingual salt
glands
Reptilian kidneys are
less efcient than
mammalian ones, so
crocodiles rely on
glands to pump salt
from their blood.
Kidney
The tail is used to

move swiftly in
the water.
Tail
Stomach
Posture
The stomach of a
saltwater crocodile
is ten-times more
acidic than a
humans, enabling
it to digest bone
and hooves.
The posture is semierect, with knees and

elbows slightly bent.
Double caudal crest

Intestine
Simple caudal crest
How the saltwater crocodile gallops

This huge lizard is capable of galloping,
but only when threatened. Over short
distances it can reach speeds of up to 15
kilometres (nine miles) per hour.
Sexual maturity males 16 years

Male crocodiles mature later and spend
most of their adult lives competing for
territory, optimal basking locations and of
course female crocodiles.
Reproduction 16+ years

Saltwater crocodiles reproduce
once a year during the wet
season. The female guards the
eggs and then the hatchlings.
Apex predator 20+ years

Older crocodiles reach average lengths
of ve metres (16.4 feet) and are
capable of taking down almost any
animal in their path.
Older crocodiles are

capable of taking down
almost any animal
125
Honed senses and killer instincts

The saltwater is the largest and most aggressive of all the crocodile species,
using its natural abilities and honed senses to survive
Crocodiles do most of their hunting in the evening and at
night. They are primarily sit-and-wait ambush predators,
so spend their time partially submerged in the water, with
barely more than their eyes and nostrils poking out of the
surface. They are agile swimmers and can dive for long
periods of time without even surfacing to breathe. They
are also able to slow their heart rate to just two or three
beats per minute. When in the water, they use their lungs
as a buoyancy aid and are also known to eat stones, which
act as a ballast, helping to stabilise their large bodies
below the surface.
Saltwater crocodiles also pack a combination of sharp
senses to stalk their prey. They have keen eyesight and the
backs of their eyes are covered in guanine crystals that
reect the light, enabling them to see more effectively in
the dark. Sensory pits on their heads also enable them to
feel changes in the vibrations within the water.
Smaller crocodiles feed mainly on crustaceans, insects
and mammals, but their diet varies depending on the
location. Saltwater crocodiles use their teeth for impaling
and securing their prey, but they are ineffective when
it comes to chewing. Instead, they swallow their prey
whole, relying on extremely acidic stomachs to dissolve
tough tissues such as bone and horn. For larger prey, the
crocodile thrashes its muscular body, swinging its head to
tear the animal into more-manageable chunks, which can

then be swallowed swiftly.
The aggressive thrashing, lunging and ghting displayed
by the saltwater crocodile is fuelled by anaerobic
respiration. This rapid method of generating energy
without oxygen enables them to ambush their prey at
high speed, using their tails to propel themselves out of
the water and tackling their target to the ground before
dragging it under. However, it results in the build up of
lactic acid in the blood, lowering the pH and building up
an oxygen debt. In order to repay this debt, the crocodile
needs to rest after periods of intense activity and can only
ght or hunt in very short bursts.
A crocodile can survive for extended periods of time
without feeding, so the majority of its life is sedentary. Like
other reptiles, they are cold-blooded and dont generate
enough body heat to maintain a constant temperature,
instead relying on their environment to heat and cool their
bodies. During the day, saltwater crocodiles spend most of
the time basking in the Sun. The bony scutes that make up
the armour plating on their backs are covered in tiny blood
vessels and act like miniature solar panels, absorbing heat
and warming their bodies. If they become too warm, they
open their mouths, seek shade or enter the water to cool
themselves down.
Saltwater crocodile diet

HATCHLING
All teeth but no bite
Despite having a full set of teeth,
newly hatched saltwater crocodiles
are small, measuring under 30
centimetres (12 inches) in length.
They cannot really tackle prey any
larger than insects or very small
crustaceans and sh.
JUVENILE
Triple the size, triple the threat
Aer a year, the crocodiles have more
than tripled in length and are capable
of hunting a much wider variety of
prey. They catch sh underwater,
lunge at small mammals on land and
leap into the air to capture birds.
ABOVE A saltwater crocodile lying

at the shore of a swamp, basking in
the rays of the Sun
RIGHT With the nostrils and eye

sockets positioned on the top of its
skull, a crocodile is able to stalk its
prey while nearly totally submerged
Crocodiles are capable of

sudden bursts of energy
to surprise their prey, but
only for short periods
ADULT
A ravenous adult
Mature saltwater crocodiles are apex
predators and their diet is restricted
only by their size. Most of the time
adult crocodiles eat smaller animals,
including crabs, sea turtles, birds, and
wild boar. However, seven-metre (23foot) adult males can bring down prey
as large as a water bualo.
Crocodiles are agile

swimmers and can
spend up to an hour
submerged underwater
A crocodile can survive

for extended periods of
time without feeding
The powerful
reach for prey
2-3 metres
Saltwater crocodiles are well known for

their high-speed lunge from the water
to the shore, but they can also perform
this rapid strike in the air. Their tails are
incredibly muscular and they can generate
enough power to propel themselves
vertically out of the water.
This technique is most often used
by juveniles to hunt insects, but adult
saltwater crocodiles are known to jump
to catch birds and even pull animals from
overhanging branches. Some lighter
crocodiles can clear the surface entirely,
becoming airborne as they catch their prey.
Leaping at speed
can leap two to three
metres out of the water
at incredible speeds of
around ten metres per
second (around 22 miles
per hour).
Perfectly formed scales

The scales on the underside
of a crocodiles abdomen
are regularly shaped and
arranged in a uniform pattern
to minimise friction.
127
How a predator
takes down its prey
Discover how a saltwater crocodile can
take down prey of all shapes and sizes
Lurking silently beneath the surface of the brackish,
cloudy water, the saltwater crocodile is the ultimate
opportunist predator. The mottled green and brown of
its much-prized hide provides the perfect camouage,
concealing it from any animal unfortunate enough to take
a drink from a nearby bank.
As an eater with a wide diet, a saltie will devour pretty
much anything it can sink its well-suited, peg-like teeth
into. If its small enough, animals such as monkeys and
birds will be swallowed whole, while larger prey such as
wild boars and water buffalo will be dragged under the
water and drowned.
01 Strike
It strikes from the water,
launching forward using its
muscular tail for propulsion.
128
The prey
Water bualo are a common
prey for saltwater crocodiles,
who usually stalk and ambush
them from the shallows.
02 Neck bite
Vice-like grip
With its pointed teeth and
bone-crushing bite force,
once a saltwater takes hold,
its prey rarely escapes.
The crocodile grabs

its prey by the neck,
crushing the trachea
with a bite force stronger
than any other animal on
the planet.
04 Drowning
03 Death roll
Using its immense body weight to roll
sideways, it generates enough force to
disable a large animal and also to tear it
into bite-sized pieces.
Breathing
The hard palate of a
saltwater extends all the
way to the back of the
mouth, so the airway isnt
squashed as it struggles.
Many animals are killed

by the bite alone, but
crocodiles will also repeat
the death roll manoeuvre
in an attempt to drown
their prey.
129
The courtship of a fearsome beast

Despite their fearsome reputation, saltwater crocodiles have a surprisingly gentle courtship
ritual and the females are nurturing mothers that guard their young ercely
BELOW When
male and female
crocs court,
they oen stay
near each other,
swimming side
by side
Just like for many other

creatures in the world, the
mating season is a tense
time for saltwater crocs
130
Saltwater crocodiles mate during the wet season, with

the males competing loudly for females. In a bid to
demonstrate their eligibility, they open their mouths,
expand their chests and emit infrasonic and audible
sounds that shake the nearby water. This often escalates to
ghting, with violent tail-whipping and biting.
Once a male has secured his territory, hes free to
attempt to mate with any female he can nd. If the
female is receptive to mating, she will raise her head to
signal submission and the courtship ritual can begin.
Male saltwater crocodiles are among the most aggressive
animals on the planet, but when pursuing a female they
employ gentler tactics. They have scent glands on
their chins and rub their heads against the females
snout to cover her in pheromones. Partners
also swim together, with the male dipping
below the female to blow bubbles on her
and performing infrasonic water dances,
vibrating his anks to create a lowpitched sound in the water.
However, even if a male is
successful in courting a female,
another male may attack the pair
during mating and the ghting
often continues in the water.
During the wet season,
saltwater crocodiles move inland to
freshwater swamps and marshes,
preferring to lay their eggs in nests constructed from

vegetation, in sheltered locations away from the tidal
waters of estuaries. The eggs take between 65 and 114
days to hatch while the female defends the nest. She waits
in nearby water channels and is efcient at warding off
would-be predators, but the biggest threat to the nest is
ooding, with around 70 per cent of eggs drowning.
The nest not only provides protection from predators
and prevents the eggs from drying out, it also plays a
vital role in determining the gender of the hatchlings.
The surrounding temperature often dictates the sex of a
newborn reptile, so instead of having the classical X and Y
chromosomes, whether or not a crocodile hatchling is male
or female is dened by how hot or cold the nest is. Eggs
will only develop into male hatchlings if the temperature
is very near to 31.6 degrees Celsius (88.9 degrees
Fahrenheit) more than a degree or two above or below
this temperature will produce only females.
The rst few years of a saltwater crocodiles life are
incredibly dangerous and the hatchlings are vulnerable to
attack by predators of many different varieties. The female
remains with her offspring for the rst few months, as
they huddle together in crches, calling to one another to
stay together. Within a year they begin to venture further
away, but larger male crocodiles pose a signicant threat
and very few hatchlings make it to adulthood. Those
that survive go on to become almost invulnerable to any
predator, other than humans.
The rst few years

of a saltwater
crocodiles life are
incredibly dangerous
and the hatchlings
are vulnerable to
attack by predators
A crocodile nest
Saltwater crocodiles are mound-nesters, building
a protective shell of mud and vegetation to
keep their developing eggs warm and safe
Egg tooth
Guarding the nest
The tough skin

found on the
end of a baby
crocodiles snout
enables it to break
through the eggs
inner membrane.
The female crocodile is an

attentive mother and guards
her nest against predators,
waiting in nearby water
channels in case any animals
attempt to approach. When
the eggs begin to hatch, the
female digs the nest open and
sometimes even carries the
hatchlings to the water in
her mouth. Her guard
duties continue until
the hatchlings are
several months old.
Egg shell
Saltwater eggs are
oval and measure
about eight
centimetres (3.1
inches) in length,
about the size of a
goose egg.
Hatchling
Newly hatched crocodiles
cry, attracting the attention
of their mother. She
responds by opening the
nest, helping the hatchlings
out of their eggs and into
the water.
Nesting
Crocodile eggs are vulnerable
to changes in temperature and
predation. Females bury them in
the nest to hide them from view
and keep a constant temperature.
First weeks of life

Before baby saltwater crocodiles hatch, they take in the remainder
of the egg yolk to sustain themselves until they are able to feed. The
hatchlings themselves are large, measuring around 30 centimetres
(one foot) from snout to tail and already have a powerful bite.
The hatchlings make repeated vocalisations and use these noises
to remain close together, guarded by the adult females. Even at this
young age, theyre aggressive and quickly establish a hierarchy
Egg tooth lost

The egg teeth that enable
the hatchlings to emerge
from their eggs are
no longer needed and
quickly disappear.
Camouage
The dappled-brown
colouring of the
scales on the back of
the hatchlings help
to keep them hidden
from predators.
Safe transport
Saltwater mothers will
often carry their hatchlings
to the water inside their
open mouths.
131
Home of a killer reptile

Where the saltwater crocodile calls home
The saltwater crocodile was once widespread across
south-east Asia, but now is restricted to the shorelines,
from the east coast of India, across south-east Asia, down
into the Northern Territory of Australia and its islands.
Despite their name, saltwater crocodiles dont live
in the sea and instead inhabit brackish water where
freshwater meets saltwater. The crocodiles spend most
of their time in tropical estuaries, rivers and swamps, but
vary their exact location according to the seasons. When
its dry, they congregate in tidal rivers, estuaries and
mangrove swamps. During the wet season they move up
to 150 kilometres (90 miles) inland to freshwater swamps,
billabongs and river channels to build their nests.
Saltwater crocodiles can venture into the open ocean
and by using a combination of oating, riding currents
and swimming, are capable of travelling thousands of
metres. Unlike most other crocodiles, they have special
glands in their mouths, enabling them to get rid of excess
salt when living away from freshwater. Some spend so
long at sea that they have been spotted with barnacles
attached to their scales. Their remarkable ability to travel

long distances at sea has enabled the species to populate
remote locations such as the Solomon Islands.
The saltwater crocodile is listed as being of Least
Concern on the IUCN Red List and faces relatively few
environmental threats. However, one of the major causes
of saltwater crocodile mortality in Australia is accidental
capture in shing nets.
Feral water buffalo also pose a threat to the saltwater
crocodile population. Originally introduced into Australia
during the 19th century, the animal causes signicant
environmental damage, with herds trampling the
wetlands. They destroy vegetation and increase drainage,
destroying the saltwater crocodiles habitat.
Nevertheless, the saltwater population in northern
Australia is doing so well that the government has to go
to great lengths to keep the crocodiles away from built-up
areas, capturing and re-releasing the creatures to move
them away from towns. Controlled hunting has even been
suggested to keep the population at a manageable level.
Environmental threats
In many areas saltwater crocodiles are thriving, but
they do face some problems in their environment
Problem crocodiles
When crocodiles become a danger,
they are relocated to crocodile farms
to be used as breeding animals.
However, illegal culling also occurs in
some areas.
Agriculture
Outside of Australia, some freshwater
habitats are suering due to
agriculture. Swampy grounds are rich
and fertile, so some are being turned
over to growing crops.
Fishing
One of the major causes of crocodile
mortality in Australia is shing nets
accidentally catching the creatures.
Measures are in place to protect the
animals from the shing industry.
Using the environment

These cold-blooded
predators use the water
to regulate their body
temperature, as well as to
stalk and ambush prey.
Nearest neighbours Take a look at some of the animals sharing their environment with this aggressive predator
Flat-back sea turtle

In northern Australia, crocodiles
share their estuaries with at-back
sea turtles. Although they measure
about a metre (3.3 feet) in length, the
turtles have a so shell and can be
vulnerable to crocodile attacks.
132
Domestic water buffalo

Water bualo are farmed for meat,
milk, skin, bone and horn. They are
also used to plough paddy elds, as
well as pack animals to move heavy
loads. They are one of the largest
animals preyed on by crocodiles.
Spectacled ying fox

These rainforest-dwelling fruit bats
can weigh up to a kilogram (2.2
pounds). Saltwater crocodiles have
been observed stalking colonies of
ying fox and will occasionally snatch
them from the air.
Green tree python

These non-venomous snakes spend
most of their time in trees, feeding
on small mammals. They adopt a
characteristic position when resting,
looping their bodies over the branches
and resting their head in the middle.
ABOVE
A high-angle
view of Ontong
Java, north of the
Solomon Islands
Saltwater
crocodiles
and humans
Saltwater crocodile skin is extremely valuable, so
the population was badly dented between 1940 and
1970 due to poaching. In the 1970s the Australian
government brought in laws to protect the crocodile
and the species is now doing well.
Saltwater crocodiles are extremely dangerous to
humans and have a reputation for attacking people
and even boats. Smaller crocodiles attack humans
as part of a territorial display, but larger individuals
can attack to kill. Most saltwater crocodiles live
in remote areas, so the opportunity to prey on
humans is rare, but the slightly smaller Nile
crocodile lives close to humanity in several areas
and is responsible for hundreds of deaths each year
in Africa, demonstrating the potential that these
reptiles have as human-killers. In remoter, moreimpoverished and isolated parts within saltwater
crocodile range, its likely that several attacks go
unreported each year.
As part of the conservation eort in Australia,
problematic and dangerous individuals are not
always culled, but instead relocated to crocodile
farms to be used as breeding animals. These farms
enable regulated production of meat and skins,
protecting the wild population from poaching and
giving even aggressive individuals a chance.
In our culture
Crocodiles are aggressive predators, and are
oen portrayed as villains in popular culture
Tick Tock the crocodile
In Peter Pan, the Disney adaptation of
J.M. Barries creation, Captain Hook is
pursued relentlessly by the fearsome
saltwater crocodile that ate his hand.
Crocodile Dundee
The 1986 lm tells the story of Mick
Crocodile Dundee, inspired by the
life of Rodney Ansell, who spent
seven weeks stranded alone in the
Australian bush.
Jacala
In Rudyard Kiplings The Second
Jungle Book, Jacala the crocodile
is described as making a bellowing
sound like a bull. However, Jacala is
actually a mugger crocodile.
133
Alamy; FLPA; Peter Scott/The Art Agency; Thinkstock; Ardea;NaturePL.com

Dr.jayan.d.; Ian Sutton; Lyndie Malan; Justin Welbergenus ;Cherubino;Lyndie Malan
Brackish water
can survive in the
open sea, but spend
most of their time
in slightly less-salty
brackish water.
134
Narwhals
MYSTERIES OF THE
Flip Nicklin/Minden Pictures/FLPA
Discover the secrets of these wondrous betusked behemoths

living in the icy waters beneath the Northern Lights
135

In the deep, cool waters of the frozen Arctic Circle lives
an elusive creature that has long been the stuff of legend.
Piercing the glassy surface of the waves, a giant needlelike tusk charges skyward, spiralling through the spray.
Another follows this, and another, until the oceans icestrewn seascape is a pincushion of gently swirling spears.
This display can only belong to one animal: a mottledgrey, ocean-going beast that is unique in the animal
kingdom in so many different ways the narwhal.
Growing to around four to ve metres (13.2 to 16.4 feet)
in length with elegantly uked tails, and living to around
50 years of age, narwhals are cetaceans, belonging to the
same group as dolphins and porpoises. They are Arctic
whales, explains Dr Martin Nweeia of Harvard School of
Dental Medicines Department of Restorative Dentistry
and Biomaterials Sciences. Dr Nweeia is the principal
investigator for Narwhal Tusk Research, and he and his
team have been studying these whales for over 14 years.
This colossal tusk is what makes the narwhal look
like nothing else in the ocean. Long, slender and with
an anti-clockwise spiralling pattern that extends right
to the tip, this is the very thing that has placed these
marine mammals in the realms of fairytale and whimsy.
The sword-like tusk is actually an overgrown tooth that
protrudes out of the whales lip, made of similar stuff to
our own pearly whites. The narwhal has eight pairs of
teeth that could form, Dr Nweeia tells us. But six of those
[pairs] are genetically silenced at birth. This means that
they simply dont ever develop. One set forms the tusks.
In the female [those teeth] typically are embedded in
the bone, so they remain. You dont see them, but theyre
there. In the male the one on the right is embedded and
the one on the left characteristically forms as the tusk.
That being said, there are different expressions. Some
whales can have two tusks. Some males may not have a
tusk and some females can have

a tusk.
In the middle ages, narwhal
tusks were thought to be able
to cure ailments, possibly
because they were touted
and sold as mythical unicorn
horns. Its rumoured that
in the 16th century Queen
Elizabeth I purchased a
narwhal tusk for 10,000
the price equivalent of a
whole castle. Theories behind
the use of the tusk include
spearing sh, regulating
temperature, breaking ice,
defending their young and as
a dominance display in social
hierarchies. The most general
one that is accepted, and still has
validity, is that its a secondary sexual
characteristic, continues Dr Nweeia. This
is a feature that distinguishes the sexes,
but isnt directly used in reproduction. Mostly
male narwhals develop the tusk, so this is why the
explanation ts well.
Dr Nweeia and his team put tusk samples under the
microscope to shed new light on their structure and
function what they found was staggering. Although the
tusk can be all of the things suggested by many other
scientists a secondary sexual characteristic, a tool for
defence or poking, a tool to break ice there is one other
job accomplished by the tusk that is far more important
above all others. This tusk is a giant sensor. It has the
capability of understanding its ocean environment. That
ABOVE The team had to study the

reactions of narwhals to certain stimuli
to test the purpose of their tusks
NARWHAL
Monodon monoceros
Class Mammalia
Territory Arctic circle

Diet Carnivore
Lifespan 50 years
3,500lbs
Conservation status
NEAR THREATENED
In the 16th century Queen

Elizabeth I purchased a
narwhal tusk for 10,000
136
Narwhals
How the tusk works

Far more than an overgrown tooth, the narwhals tusk is actually a highly
receptive sensory organ, guiding the creature through the icy waters
Spiral pattern
All narwhal tusks spiral anti-clockwise, but
scientists still dont know why this is.
Cementum
This calcied substance that covers the entire tusk
is usually very tough, but in the narwhal it contains
less mineral content and is exible.
Peripulpal layer
A unique feature in narwhal tusks, this layer is
where the nerve cells that take information to the
brain connect to the sensory tubules.
External conditions
Thousands of tubule openings on the surface of
the tusk are continually exposed to seawater and
everything contained within it.
Dentine
This strong layer of the tusk
contains protein, minerals and
is also punctuated by millions of
sensory tubules.
Sensing cells
At the base of the tubule,
these cells detect the
changes and properties
of the water near the
tusks surface.
Tubule openings
As many as 10 million tubules run from
the centre of the tusk to the surface.
Nerve network
Nerve cells contained within
the middle of the tusk relay
the information from the tusk
to the brain.
Pulp
This part of the tusk contains the nerve
cells that transfer the sensory signals
to the narwhals brain, enabling it to
eectively read its environment.
ABOVE A microscopic view of the tubules on a narwhal tusk

at 1,000x magnication strength
137

was a critical piece because no one has really ever looked
at this aspect, as a sensory organ. When they examined
the tusk up close, Dr Nweeia and his team found tiny
tubes, known as tubules that run from the tusks nerverich core right through to the outer shell. These tubules are
exposed to the seawater and send signals down the tubes,
concerning the composition of the seawater, and what is
in it, to special cells at the bottom. These cells process the
information and pass it to the nerves, which then take this
data up the tusk to the narwhals brain.
In order to test this theory, the team travelled to the
Arctic Circle to gather data from wild narwhal subjects.
Dr Nweeia takes us through his technique for testing the
sensitivity of the tusk: After the narwhal was brought to
shore, we would cover a half-metre section of the tusk
with the tusk jacket and attach the heart- and brainmonitoring equipment to the whale. This was to observe
brain and heart rate activity while we stimulated the tusk
with solutions. Inside the tusk jacket, we would inject
solutions of alternating high salt and fresh water, while
monitoring the whales reaction. This typically took
around 20 minutes, with minimal stress on the whale. On
any eld expedition, we would catch and release about
ve to eight whales to enable sufcient samples to be
analysed, Dr Nweeia continues.
While working in the eld, the team also gathered
traditional knowledge from the people who know the
narwhal most intimately, the Inuit of Nunavut. As the only
permitted hunters of the narwhal, Inuit elders have grown
to know the movements of these cetaceans incredibly well.
Sharing this knowledge was essential to understanding the
subtleties of narwhal behaviour and to dispel the myths
about these fascinating whales.
For example, the Inuit were able to tell Dr Nweeia
another interesting reason for the narwhals to visit the
inlets of Hudson Bay during the summer. Narwhals
come to these inlets to molt, he says. It has never been
witnessed by scientists, since the hunters describe the
molting to be a gauze-like layer that quickly dissipates in
the water, unlike the beluga molt thats heavier and much
easier to observe. A molt is when the whale sheds its
outer layer of skin, and the fact that narwhals do this may
never have come to light if it werent for the indigenous
Inuit people sharing their experiences with Dr Nweeia and
the other scientists.
Another shocking discovery that Dr Nweeia himself

admits truly surprised him was a piece of information
shared by local Inuit hunters. When you typically see
[narwhal tusks], they are dried out, so theyre quite rigid,
he begins. We were talking to a lot of elders and hunters
about whales and insights were passed on to us. The
information from them was critical. They would tell us
that when these whales swim, this [tusk] is movable. It
can actually ex back and forth. Dr Nweeia says, Quite
honestly when I looked at that, as a scientist, I thought
I dont think so. After looking into it a little further, the
team found this was the case, and the narwhals tusk is
a exible organ. I found it hard to believe! reveals Dr
Nweeia. They hypothesised that a 2.7-metre (nine-foot)
section of tusk had the capability of going 0.3 metres (one
foot) in any direction. Which shocked us all!
Dr Nweeia and his team were able to prove that the
tusk is far more than just a toothy outgrowth, and is an
essential sensory organ that could change the way we
understand narwhals and their behaviour forever.
ABOVE Though no one is

entirely certain of the full use
of the narwhal tusks, they also
feature in ghts between rivals
How animals use their tusks
Elephant
Walrus
Hippo
Babirusa pig
These tusks are actually elongated

incisors, present in both males
and females. Theyre used for
numerous tasks, including clearing
paths, digging for water or roots
and ghting between rivals.
Walrus tusks are elongated

canine teeth that never stop
growing. They can reach up to a
metre (three feet) and are used
for breaking through sea ice or
hauling themselves onto the shore.
Inside these gigantic jaws, the

canine tusks can grow up to
50 centimetres (20 inches). Not
famed for being the friendliest
animals, hippos can use their tusks
to ght with other males.
This wild boar grows two sets of

tusks. The upper canines grow
up through the skin of the snout
from the inside. If the tusks arent
ground down, they can curve
around to touch the forehead.
138
Narwhals
Never giving up:

the man behind
the research
What were the conflicting ideas that made you want to

clarify the role of the tusk?
Well theres about every theory you can imagine to
explain them, but the most general one that is accepted,
and still has validity by the way, is that its a secondary
sexual characteristic. Certainly theres nothing wrong
with that, but [it] only explains a certain level of
understanding Rather than just kind of pushing it off,
one has to think: Why make this decision as an animal?
What in evolution decided to go this route?
Do we know whether or not narwhals act in the same

way as other cetaceans?
They are very social like beluga. Narwhals have a large
vocal range and they also have a strong social network.
Certainly in the work that were doing, we do brief
capture and release of whales, and we have both a
veterinarian and often go with the VP of the Vancouver
aquarium Both of these people are very sensitive to
aspects of social interaction, because typically they do
work with belugas a lot. Interestingly enough, if in our
catch and release programme we catch one member of
a family, the team is very sensitive to the fact that often
other members of the family will stick around until their
partner comes back.
Where did you start with dispelling the myth of the

mysterious narwhal tusk?
It was certainly a long process, but my starting point
was very distinct for me. I made an appointment with
James Mead, then the curator of marine mammals at
the Smithsonian Museum regarded as one of the most
prominent marine mammal anatomists in the world
today I remember at a distinct point of the conversation
when I had questioned the function of this tusk, he
looked at me and he said: Oh I thought this was pretty
well understood as a secondary sexual characteristic, like
the peacock feather and the lion mane, and I remember
looking at him directly I said: Yeah and nobody knows
what those do either! I could see him smile, because in

the moment there was an understanding that, whatever
you study and whatever you look at in life, it doesnt
matter whether its a tusk or a personal relationship
of any other attribute of life, your level of really
understanding something is really only proportional to
your curiosity.
Not all narwhals have tusks, so how do we know which

individual gets one?
We are actually doing a large genetic study at the
moment The thing that we found in our most recent
paper is that this tusk is a giant sensor it has the
capability of understanding its ocean environment.
That was a critical piece because no one has really ever
looked at this aspect, as a sensory organ. It may have
signicance in terms of sexual selection it may help
determine the tness of the species, so for example if
the tusk senses certain kinds of sh that would
be important for newborn calves to have, that
would demonstrate tness to the female, so
those kinds of things.
But likewise, there still may be a
social hierarchy standpoint. People
have hypothesised that while the
secondary sexual characteristic
is used so males can ght it out
for who gets the female, but
nobody has ever witnessed on
a common level any aggression
between males. Its been
hypothesised, but its [only
rarely] been seen [and]
when it has been seen its
very isolated. You could see
a rogue male going off and
doing something but its not
typical in the species to do
that. The last thing you want to
do is break that tusk.
BELOW Scientists have to

be careful to cause as little
distress to the animals as
possible as they do tests
Corbis, Getty, Thinkstock, Glenn Williams, Narwhal Tusk Research;

Joseph Meehan, Doc White, Gretchen Freund, Isabelle Croc, Anthony
Giusepetti, Kevin Hand
With a background studying particular

characteristics and features of animals and humans,
as well as a clear passion for the narwhal, expert and
scientist Dr. Martin Nweeia took a fresh approach to
the mystery of the whales tusk. Having studied the
creatures for some 14 years, he has a new light to
shed on the unusual-looking creature
140
Polar bears
An animal synonymous with frozen winters and

Arctic wastelands, these mighty hunters are perfectly
equipped to hunt in the wild oceans
141

The main threat to these
majestic bears is the
encroaching of human
civilisation on their home
and, most importantly,
climate change
Powerful senses of
an oceanic giant
Impeccable senses to conquer the most inhospitable environment on Earth
Deceptively uffy, the polar bear is the
fearsome king of the Arctic and is top
of the polar food chain. Found across
the Arctic Circle, there are around 19
populations of polar bears living in four
different ice regions of the Arctic. These
bears freely roam the ice around the
fringes of the polar basin, and although
they stay in their home ranges, some can
wander for miles.
Polar bears depend on the sea and its
ice for food. These bears eat a diet rich
in fat, consisting mainly of seals their
favourite avour being ringed or bearded
seal, which are rich in blubber. However,
bears will also take opportunistic meals,
and feast on Arctic birds, eggs,
sometimes whales, and even
the odd caribou.
These erce hunters
use their powerful
sense of smell
to locate
142
breathing holes that seals cut into the

ice. The seals will surface every 5 to 15
minutes to, and this is when the bear
strikes. Bears even stalk the seals as they
bask on the ice, creeping closer and
closer before pouncing on their prey.
As primarily solitary beasts, polar
bears differ greatly with their social
interactions. Although not territorial,
some will be very wary or aggressive to
other bears when they approach, but
others will greet the new bear like an old
friend and play for hours. As such, these
bears show distinct personality traits and
individual preferences.
The main threat to these majestic
bears is the encroaching of human
civilisation in their home and, most
importantly, climate change. This is at
its extremes in the poles, with the Arctic
sea ices minimum summertime coverage
reducing by 12 per cent per decade for
the last 30 years.
Polar bears
POLAR BEAR
Ursus maritimus
Class Mammalia
Territory Arctic Circle

Diet Seals
Adult weight 410-720kg /
900-1,600lbs
Conservation Status
VULNERABLE
Dangers of growing up in the Arctic

Its a tough job being a polar bear cub, with a plethora of Arctic obstacles to
overcome. Cubs rely on their mother and instinct to help them survive
Life at sub-zero
Cubs are born in November
and December, and Arctic
winter temperatures can
drop to 50C/58F. For a
very little bear thats a chilly
start to life! Luckily, the snow
den that the mother builds
is insulated, creating a snug
haven for cub development.
No choice but to swim in icy water

Bear cubs are introduced to water at a young age, but as the ice becomes
sparse, cubs have to follow their mother on longer, incredibly exhausting
swims. Small bears have less blubber, meaning less insulation and
buoyancy in the chilly Arctic waves.
Predators on the prowl

Once the bear cubs poke
their tiny white snouts
over the threshold of their
mothers snow den, they
could face hungry animals
much bigger than them
looking for a quick meal.
The main threat is from fully
grown male polar bears.
Global warming melts polar bears homes

Retreating sea ice can mean a potential lack of food. Mother bears need
to keep their energy intake up to provide very young cubs with rich,
nutritious milk, while bigger cubs need to learn how to hunt. Without sea
ice theres less seal shing to be done, which limits the bears diet.
143
Eating for survival

These arctic giants rely on the best-possible diet to help see
them through such extreme conditions
Polar bears need to maintain their thermal fat layer to
battle the cold, and seal blubber contains 70 per-cent
energy-packed fat, rich in healthy oils and vitamins.
Seals are abundant in the Arctic circle so they are a
logical choice, and with 42 sharp teeth the polar bear
has little trouble killing a meal. The hunting skills of
polar bears range from a silent sneak attack to an
outright charge, so no seal is safe.
144
Polar bears
What polar bears eat
11% other
(e.g. whale carcasse)
13% bearded seals
63% ringed seals
13% harp seals
145
Arctic
adaptations
Polars are kitted to the brim with tools
to tackle the harsh environment
The polar bears adaptations to deal with
the cold go beyond their furry outward
appearance. Polar bears have evolved to
have reinforced heart muscle that ghts
against vascular disease, much more
so than their grizzly bear relatives. A
strong heart helps pump warming blood
around the body, which is insulated by
more than thick fur. A polar bears skin,
bone marrow and the space between
organs is packed with adipose fat that
is bursting with stored energy. This
specialised fat can make up over 50 percent of the polar bears body weight and
keeps their body functioning properly
despite the bitter cold.
Polar bears often have to fast when
food is scarce or when raising cubs, so
this energy store is essential to their
survival. These bears can even control
the activity of their cells to raise their
body temperature. Nitric oxide found in
the body converts nutrients from food
into energy, but polar bears can opt
to convert ingested nutrients directly
into heat by controlling the level of
nitric oxide in their cells. Every part of
a polar bears body can be used as
a weapon against the cold, and their
unbelievable adaptations to dealing with
plummeting temperatures are still not
fully understood.
As polar bears grow theyre able to
eat a more varied diet of larger animals.
Older bears eat enormous harp seals
and even beluga whales to sustain their
bulk. Males can grow to double the size
of females, and the bigger they get the
more they need to eat to keep their
temperature up. The stomach can hold
20 per-cent of their body weight, which
is 700 kilograms (300 pounds). Thats
the equivalent of an average human
eating 1550 loaves of bread!
Colourless hair
The outer layer of a bears fur is
actually colourless these hairs
are hollow and reect visible light
in their empty space, which makes
the bear look white and provides a
handy camouage for hunting.
Black skin
Beneath the white fur, a polar
bears skin is actually black.
This helps to absorb the Suns
rays and retain the heat. White
skin that would reect heat o
the bears body.
Furry feet
The bottom of a polar bears paws
is covered in fur. This helps to
insulate and provide grip. Traction
for charging about on the ice is also
provided by small bumps on the
pads, known as papillae.
Little ears and tail

Having smaller extremities conserves heat and small
ears and tail lie close to the body. This doesnt aect
their function though they have very acute hearing!
Thick blubber
A ten-centimetre layer of
fatty blubber just under the
skin acts as an insulator. It
also provides buoyancy in
the water to save energy
when swimming.
Super-sized paws
Huge oar-like paddles for paws are ecient and energysaving when swimming, and spread the bears weight
while on the ice. Strong, sharp claws help to grip.
The bear family

1 metre
A glance at the biggest bears in the business
Giant panda
Ailuropoda melanoleuca
Length: 1.5m (plus 0.2m tail)
Shoulder height: 1m
Amount left in wild: 1,400
146
Sun bear
Helarctos malayanus
Length: 1.2m
Shoulder height: 70cm
Amount left in wild:
no reliable data
American black bear

Ursus americanus
Length: 1.8m
Shoulder height: 1m
850,000-950,000
Polar bears
The polar bears
huge paws act as
oar-like paddles
in the water for
efcient, energysaving swimming
The polar bears closest relative

Polar bears are descended from brown
bears a species that is clearly much more
at home in the forest than in the Arctic
Circle. Fossil evidence shows that the
polar bear may have evolved as long as 1.5

million years ago. However, the two species
are still so similar that they have been
known to interbreed, even in the wild.
Streamlined form
Polar bears have longer necks and narrower skulls than
brown bears an adaptation for their marine lifestyle
making it an ecient and streamlined swimmer
Long, curved claws
Brown bears claws are much longer than the polars;
they can be the length of a human nger. Brown bears
use these for digging dens and rooting out vegetation
Shoulder hump
Brown bears have a prominent shoulder hump muscle
mass that allows it to be a powerful digger. While polar
bears do dig dens in snow, they dont have humps
Asiatic black bear

Ursus thibetanus
Length: 1.8m
Shoulder height: 1m
60,000
Spectacled bear
Tremarctos ornatus
Length: 1.5m
Less than 6,000-10000
Sloth bear
Melursus ursinus
Length: 1.8m
7,000-10,000
147
Learning from
the best
How a mother prepares her cubs for the cold
reality of their extreme environment
When a female polar bear becomes pregnant
she builds an underground burrow, where she
will wait for two or three months to give birth
to one or two tiny cubs. Weighing only 500
grams (one pound), cubs will suckle from the
mother for the following four months until they
reach weight of 10 kilograms (22 pounds). The
milk the mother provides is 27 per-cent fat that
helps the cubs bulk up for the day they leave
the den. When the cubs have gained enough
insulating weight the mother leads her cubs up
to the surface, where she immediately begins to
search for a meal. She will not have eaten since
entering the den six to eight months previously,
and she needs to teach her cubs how to survive
in their rst moments above the ground. The
mother keeps her cubs by her side while they
practice their hunting and survival skills for
up to three years until she is satised they are
ready to fend for themselves, and sometimes
that moment comes sooner than expected.
Cubs can be left orphaned, and if this happens
they need to be prepared to face the Arctic
tundra alone. Cubs may ee from their mother
is she is fatally attacked and go in search of
food for themselves. If their mother has taught
them well, the cubs are able to survive to go on
to reproduce in the future. The area the mother
rst teaches her cubs how to hunt becomes
their home for life, and future generations will
raise their own cubs in the same place.
148
The mother keeps her cubs by

her side while they practise their
hunting and survival skills
149
Thinkstock, Alamy, Rex Features
Polar bears
50
FACTS ABOUT
EXPLORE SOME OF THE MOST AMAZING HUNTING AND
LVING HABITS OF THESE FANTASTIC FLIGHTLESS BIRDS
150
Penguins
1. The emperor penguin breeds at -60C

If there is one fact above all
others that pays testament to
Aptenodytes forsteri
how amazing penguins are,
Class Aves
its that emperor penguins
breed at -60 degrees Celcius
(-76 degrees Fahrenheit), a
feat that would be simply
Territory Antarctica
unthinkable and impossible
Diet Carnivore
for any other species on
Earth. This ightless bird,
88lbs
which is native to the coldest,
Conservation Status
driest and windiest continent
on Earth, Antarctica, braves
an environment where, with
NEAR THREATENED
wind chill taken into account,
the temperature can plummet to insane levels of cold.
Dont think that such cold conditions are experienced
only rarely by the emperor, as the average temperature in
Antarctica is consistently around -30 degrees Celcius (-22
degrees Fahrenheit), while the coldest temperature ever
recorded in the emperors natural habitat stands at -89.2
degrees Celcius (-128.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
What makes this feat even more astounding, however,
is that emperor penguins spend the entirety of the long
winter months in Antarctica on the open ice, completely
exposed to the elements. The female of the species
breeds directly into this cauldron of cold, before
leaving the tiny vulnerable young to be sheltered
by the male partner. They will then proceed on a
hunting trip that lasts two months and can see
them travelling over 80 kilometres (50 miles) away
from their partners and young. The female will only
return once her belly is stocked to the gullet full of sh,
squid and other marine creatures. If shes lucky the male
EMPEROR PENGUIN
Antarctica
Emperor penguin range

emperor will not have starved to death and the chick
will have survived the extreme environment relatively
unscathed, but incredibly hungry.
Emperor penguins possess many amazing features
and abilities, many of which well explore here.
However, this ability to withstand the worst, most
brutal climate and environment the Earth can muster
for months on end, without food and with newborn
young to protect, is the most jaw-dropping of them all.
BELOW RIGHT A
penguin chick has
to survive harsh
conditions in order to
survive into maturity
BELOW LEFT An
example of a penguin
huddle, where the
birds gather together
to stay warm
Blizzard
Emperor penguins live in
Antarctica and, as such, have
to endure temperatures of
-60 C (-76F) and frequent
bone-freezing blizzards.
Huddle
To survive and breed in
such harsh conditions,
emperor penguins huddle
together in groups, with
those directly in the wind
blast continuously rotated.
151

3. They are able to
drink salt water
2. Penguins
have 70
feathers per
square inch
As penguins spend so much of their
time in water, they need a reliable
waterproof coating, which for all species
comes courtesy of their feathers. In fact,
these are some of the most dense and
numerous plumages of all birds.
The average feather count per square
inch (6.5 square centimetres) of a
penguin is 70 and with some species,
such as the emperor penguin, that
number rises to more than 100. These
small, stiff and tightly packed feathers
overlap and when in good condition
not only help insulate the bird against
its cold environment but ensure a
waterproof barrier is maintained at
all times, enabling the penguin to slip
through the water effortlessly before
returning to land in a fast-drying state.
On the rare occasion that a penguin
gets too hot, it cools itself by raising
its ippers, which are the one part of
its body, aside from the feet, where its
plumage is not so dense and heat can
escape quickly.
Another unique evolutionary feature possessed by

all penguin species is the ability to drink salt water
without any adverse side eects.
Humans and most other land-dwelling animals
cannot drink ocean water due to its high salt
content, but penguins have evolved a special
supraorbital gland that lters all salt intake from its
bloodstream, enabling it to drink and be refreshed
as if drinking from a freshwater source.
The ltered salt, once extracted and separated
from the animals bloodstream, is then eventually
excreted as a concentrated uid from the penguins
nasal passages.
Warm coating
Feathers keep penguins
warm in freezing
temperatures, but also
maintain a waterproof
barrier for swimming.
BELOW Penguins are able to

consume salt water, without
any adverse eects
The penguin varies its blood ow rate by

adjusting the diameter of its arterial vessels
Heat exchangers
A system of arteries
exchanges heat to
keep the extremities
as warm as
possible.
Arterial vessels
The penguin is able
to adjust its blood
ow rate to suit the
changing conditions.
152
4. They can
control their
blood ow
Ever wondered why parts of a penguin dont just freeze
and fall off in the harshest climate on Earth? Well, the
answer is due to the ability to control its own blood
ow, which is certainly a handy trait when living in such
typically cold climates.
The penguin varies its blood ow rate by adjusting
the diameter of its arterial vessels, supplying its blood in
accordance with climate conditions. In cold conditions
the diameter is reduced to limit the blood ow (which
reduces heat loss) and in warmer conditions the diameter
is expanded, increasing the ow.
Partnering this ability, which is controlled with a
complicated nervous and hormonal system, are also
countercurrent heat exchangers, which are positioned
at the top of the penguins legs and exchange heat from
warm blood travelling in one direction with cold blood
travelling in the other. This ensures that heat is distributed
efciently around the body and that minimal loss occurs
at the extremities, while ensuring they dont freeze.
Penguins
5. They molt
at an unusually
fast rate
Not many people are aware that
penguins, like all birds, molt
their feathers. In the penguins
case, molting generally occurs
annually and all in one go, which
is referred to as a catastrophic
molt. This results in each
species completely shedding its
outer layer of feathers quickly
and with spectacular results,
with a penguin mid-molt looking
like an exploding pillow.
6. Males and
females look
identical
Most penguin species are not
sexually dimorphic. This means
that both the males and females
are identical in appearance with
regards to both their plumage
and colouration.
7. They do not
have teeth
Rather than teeth, a penguin has
hundreds of spines on the top
and bottom interior of its beak.
These spines help the penguin
hold slippery, moving prey,
particularly sh.
8. Every
penguin lives
in the Southern
Hemisphere
Every species of penguin lives
in the Southern Hemisphere,
ranging from the continent
of Antarctica through to the
relatively warmer waters of the
Galapagos Islands.
9. The
Magellanic is
named after
Ferdinand
Magellan
The Magellanic penguin
(Spheniscus magellanicus)
was named by its discoverer,
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand
Magellan. The adventurer
stumbled upon the species in
around 1520 CE, along with a
range of other species that had
gone undiscovered.
10. The Little

Penguin is
13 inches tall
The littlest
penguin
The Little Penguins
small size oen
leaves it vulnerable
to predators such as
lizards, stoats and
even pets.
Penguins on average
measure between two
Eudyptula minor
and three feet in height,
Class Aves
but this gure means
nothing to the Little
Penguin a species
that averages a paltry
Territory South coast of
33 centimetres (13
Australia, coastal New Zealand
inches) in height when
Diet Carnivore
Lifespan 6-7 years
fully grown.
Adult weight 1.5kg / 3.3lbs
Due to its small size,
Conservation Status
the Little Penguin is
often also commonly
referred to as the
LEAST CONCERN
fairy penguin, with
the animals small size
and low weight individuals struggle to break 1.5
kilograms (3.3 pounds) granting them a cute and
friendly appearance. Like most seabirds Little Penguin
have a long lifespan, with the average being 6.5 years.
The Little Penguin was rst discovered and
recorded in 1781 CE and today is a well-established
species, with 350,000-600,000 individuals estimated
to exist in their natural habitat. Indeed, the little
penguin population is well dispersed, with
the animal found on New Zealand,
Australia, the Chatham Islands, as
well as some sightings in Chile and
Australia
even sporadically in South Africa.
Unfortunately, however, due to this
species establishment on national
mainlands, they are frequently killed
by cats, lizards, foxes and stoats.
These attacks typically come when
Little Penguin range
the little penguin is at its on-shore
nest, which it returns to each evening
with food harvested from the ocean.
LITTLE PENGUIN
11. They toboggan when

leaving the water
All penguin species are capable of tobogganing, which is
essentially where the bird lies on its stomach and propels
itself horizontally across the ice, with its ippers and
feet acting as the propelling mechanisms.
Tobogganing is not only a much faster form
of travel for penguins whose large bodies,
short legs and webbed feet make walking
cumbersome but it also helps the animal
conserve more energy, which is so
precious in its oen unforgiving habitat.
Penguins are capable of sliding
with minimal eort across at or
descending inclines. They even use
RIGHT When
this tobogganing method to quickly
penguins toboggan,
escape predators such as seals and
they are not only
conserving energy,
sea lions, who dont posses the same
but can also evade
ability and so cannot keep up with
predators much faster
their prey.
than by waddling
153
12. The macaroni is the

most common species
With an estimated 20
million individuals in
Eudyptes chrysolophus
existence, the macaroni
Class Aves
penguin is the most
numerous penguin
species living on Earth
and millions of birds
Territory Subantarctic
occupy a range that
Diet Carnivore
stretches from the
Adult weight 15.5kg / 12lbs
subantarctic to the
Conservation Status
Antarctic Peninsula.
To be precise, at least
216 colonies have been
VULNERABLE
identied at over 50
different sites around
the world. The macaroni penguin can be found from
Chile, through the Falkland Islands and onto the South
MACARONI PENGUIN
Shetland Islands among many others, with the animal

spreading far and wide especially during foraging
trips and frequently coming into contact with
scattered human settlements.
Aside from its high numbers, the macaroni penguin
is also known for its remarkable fasting behaviour.
During the species breeding period the male fasts
for around 37 days after the arrival of the egg, before
swapping with the mother for a ten-day period
to forage, while the female then fasts for 42 days
straight. When the male eventually returns from
foraging, it then proceeds to fast once more for a
similar time frame.
Due to this extensive fasting habit, both male and
female macaroni penguins lose between 35 and
40 per cent of their total body weight during the
hatching and raising period.
Macaroni penguins lose between 35 and 40 per

cent of their total body weight during the hatching
and raising period
Widespread species
Macaroni penguins living
on the snow-covered
slopes of Cooper Bay,
South Georgia.
Bluish-black plumage
The macaroni has a black
plumage with a bluish sheen
when new and a brownish
sheen when old, just prior to
molting.
Crested species
The macaroni penguin
is one of six species of
penguin with a crest.
This stretches from the
centre of the forehead to
the nape.
13. 1 in every 50,000 penguins is born

with a unique brown plumage
Around 1 in 50,000 penguins is born as an
isabelline penguin. These unique and rare
penguins are marked due to their distinctive
brown plumage, which is caused by a similar
biological process to albinism.
Unfortunately, due to their brown plumage
standing out against the animals native
LEFT Isabelline penguins are extremely rare
and also have a shorter life expectancy
backdrop of ice and snow, therefore oering no

camouage against predators, these isabelline
variants tend to have shorter life expectancies
than regular penguins.
Additionally, even if an isabelline penguin
somehow survives against predation, it oen then
nds it dicult to mate, with the other penguins
with normal plumage overlooking it when the
breeding season arrives.
14. They
are able to
consume
stones to aid
with digestion
Scientists believe penguins will
actively consume small stones
along with food to aid digestion
within their stomach. The stones
are also believed to add weight
and aid the birds diving.
15. An emperor
egg takes 67
days to hatch
As you may expect, the largest
penguin species in the world
the emperor penguin has the
longest incubation time in-egg
than any other, with it taking
over two months for any chick to
hatch into the world.
16. Most
species lay two
eggs at a time
All penguins, aside from the
emperor and king species, tend
to lay two eggs in a nest made
of stones, bones and moss. The
emperor and king penguins only
ever lay one, however, and dont
build nests but incubate the egg
on the tops of their feet to keep
them from the cold oor.
17. Penguins
breed during
spring and
summer
Aside from the emperor penguin,
which breeds during the cold of
the harsh Antarctic winter, all
other species of penguin breed
during the spring and summer
months, when generally
conditions are a lot warmer.
18. Male
emperors
make very
good fathers
As soon as a female emperor
penguin produces an egg, the
male partner immediately takes
over the caring duties, incubating
the egg carefully on the top of his
feet. While hes doing this, the
female emperor travels away on
a hunting and feeding trip.
Penguins
19. The gentoo

can swim at
up to 22mph
Faster than any other diving bird, the gentoo penguin
is distinctive for many reasons, primarily for its ability to
swim at a rapid 22 miles (36 kilometres) per hour. Its also
notable due to its amboyant red-orange beak, white
feathered caps and super-streamlined body, with this
species type commonly found throughout the Antarctic
Peninsula and its many icy islands.
On land, gentoo penguins have no natural predators,
but despite their speed in the water they are frequently
preyed upon in the oceans by leopard seals, sea lions and
orca whales. Additionally, during the breeding season,
their eggs are prone to be taken by birds of prey such as
caracaras and skuas.
This predation, along with climate change and human
shing operations, has seen the number of gentoo
penguins decrease rapidly over the past couple of
decades, with the species receiving a Near Threatened
rating by the IUCN Red List in 2007. This is particularly
depressing, as the gentoo is one of the cornerstone
penguin species, being the third largest (76 centimetres
or 30 inches) in height and weighing a modest 5.5
kilograms (12 pounds). Adult gentoos spend most of their
days hunting close to shore, where they consume large
quantities of squid and krill. Gentoo chicks take just over
a month to hatch and then a further month of direct care
before they can leave the nest.
20. A penguins body

temperature is 38 C
The average temperature in a penguins
body is 38 degrees Celcius (100 degrees
Fahrenheit), even despite most living in
subantarctic conditions, where temperatures
oen plummet well below -20 degrees
Celcius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit).
Interestingly, however, scientists
have used infrared imagery to show that
at times parts of a penguins body can
drop in temperature by over 15
degrees Celcius, with inactive
extremities kept cooler than
the core. This helps the
penguin conserve energy
that otherwise would have
been wasted.
Staying warm
Though they live
in cold conditions,
penguins can still
remain warm.
Acrobatic
Gentoos are also
one of the most agile
penguins and are
capable of leaping
high out of the water.
Rapid swimmer
While swimming
under the water
gentoos can hit
22mph (36km/h).
GENTOO PENGUIN
Pygoscelis papua
Class Aves
Territory Subantarctic
Diet Carnivore
Adult weight 5.5kg / 12lbs
Conservation Status
NEAR THREATENED
Adult gentoos spend

most of their days
hunting close to shore
The emperor
penguin can dive
down to 1,700 feet
21. They arent able to
breathe underwater
Despite spending the majority of their lives there,
penguins cant actually breathe underwater, with
the time and depth they can be submerged for
being wholly dependent on the species type.
As an example, little penguins can only manage
to dive down to around 60 metres (200 feet) and
remain underwater for up to a minute. In contrast,
the emperor penguin can dive down to 565 metres
(1,850 feet) below the surface and may remain
there for around 20 minutes at any one time.
22. They are a very

sociable species
Toasty seat
Penguin chicks can
perch on a warm pair
of feet to avoid the
cold snow.
Despite their remote habitats and general lack of

contact with the wider world, penguins are social
animals, conducting almost every aspect of their
daily lives together. From diving and hunting,
through to breeding together in large colonies
and communicating with one another constantly
via calls, as well as visual displays, penguins are
always in contact. They even travel and sleep in
groups too the latter oen to increase safety
and warmth and will band together to ght o
predators who are trying to capture a younger or
weaker individual.
155
23. Penguins are carnivores

Its easy to forget, but all penguin species are actually
piscivorous carnivores, consuming massive amounts of
meat during their lives. In fact its estimated that the
Earths macaroni penguin population consumes 9.2
million tons of krill each and every year.
While penguins consume a wide variety of food
sources, they do have some favourites, with krill, squid
and sh such as anchovies and sardines common
favourites. Certain species also have a penchant for
crustaceans, cuttlesh and shrimp too, eating and
digesting them directly or consuming and processing them

into a slurry to be more easily transferred to their young.
Hunting for meat occurs on a daily basis and trips are
undertaken in groups, but foraging itself can occur both
in isolation or as part of a concerted group effort. They
work together to catch prey or take it in turns to enter the
water while the others rest. Penguins desire for meat will
see hunting parties frequently travel many miles both in
and out of water to reach prime feeding grounds, spending
days on end catching and eating sh.
Blood-thirsty
Penguins are carnivores,
consuming sh, shellsh and
crustaceans in very large
quantities to survive.
Hunting technique
A popular hunting
technique is to dive to 50m
(164) and then swim up
to surprise sh swimming
closer to the ocean surface.
Penguins
desire for
meat will see
hunting parties
frequently travel
many miles
24. They are extremely
short-sighted
LEFT Penguins
have similar
eye structures
to humans
156
Intriguingly penguin eyes and human eyes are

remarkably similar, with a cornea, iris and crystalline
lens focusing light onto a retina. With penguin eyes,
however, the cornea is almost at and its iris is
controlled by a far more powerful muscle than ours
two features that make the penguin capable of
seeing both in and out of water equally well (unlike
humans who are farsighted underwater).
The trade-o for this ability is a general shortsightedness both in and out of the water, however,
particularly so when on land. Regardless, with
little need for pin-sharp, hawk-like vision, penguin
eyes have been shown to be completely adequate. In
general, individuals are easily able to pick out partners
and chicks at medium range.
25. Their colonies

can be massive
If you thought a penguin rookery was big, with
thousands of birds all drawing together in one
place, then think again, as a penguin colony can be
over 100-times larger.
The current Guinness World Record for
the largest penguin colony on Earth lies with
Zavodovski Island, an active volcano in the South
Sandwich Islands. Zavodovski sees approximately
two million chinstrap penguins breed on its slopes
each and every year, with several hundreds of
thousands of birds descending on the island to
court and mate.
Along with the macaroni, the chinstrap penguin
is among the most numerous penguin species
found across the world.
Penguins
26. The word
penguin was
rst used in the
16th century
The word penguin was originally
created as a synonym for the extinct
great auk in the 16th century. It is
believed the word stems from the
Latin pinguis, meaning fat.
27. The gentoo

has a brightorange bill
Gentoo penguins are easily
identiable due to their brightorange bill, which no other
species has. They also have the
biggest tail of all penguins
28. They enter

the water in
groups
Penguins tend to jump into
the ocean in large groups.
Researchers believe that this
habit is an evolved behaviour to
aid survivability and increase
safety from predators.
29. Megadyptes
antipodes has
yellow eyes
Megadyptes antipodes (yelloweyed penguin) is easily identifiable
purely by the colouration of its
eyes, which stand out as a bright
greenish-yellow. This species is
found only in New Zealand.
LEFT Penguin colonies can

include many hundreds of
thousands of individuals, all
in one place
30. A nest
area is called
a rookery
As social birds, penguins mate together
en-masse in large breeding grounds referred
to as a rookeries. Its here that penguins
construct their nests and incubate their
young, with each nest being a specied
distance from its neighbour.
Rookeries frequently contain thousands
of birds all tightly packed in one place and,
as such, each penguin develops its very own
unique call that it can use to nd its partner
or chick, even amid the throng. By nesting
together in a rookery rather than on their
own in isolation, penguins also help defend
one another against predators.
31. Each species has

a distinctive call
Penguin calls may sound the same
but each one is identiable, with a single
penguin amid thousands of others capable
of recognising its mate. As penguins are
nearly identical, these vocalisations play a
crucial part in their lives.
There are three main types of penguin call:
the contact, display and threat calls. The rst
assists a penguin in recognising other colony
members and its typically very loud, with the
contact calls of the larger penguin species,
such as the emperor and the king, travelling
over a kilometre (0.6 miles). The display call
is used between penguin partners and diers
to the simpler and loud contact call in that its
far more complex, conveying information on
territorial placement, sexuality and individual
recognition. The threat call is the simplest
penguin vocalisation of the three and is used
to warn other colony members of predators.
Safety in numbers
Penguins nest in close proximity
in order to protect one another
from potential threats
LEFT
Penguins
rely on their
calls to warn
of danger
as well as
identify nests
32. There are 16

species of penguin,
15 of which are now
endangered
Sadly, over two-thirds of all penguin species are
currently rated as Near Threatened, Vulnerable
or Endangered by the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Climate change
and human shing activities have been highlighted
as the main factors that are driving them towards
complete extinction.
A recent study by the World Wide Fund for Nature
predicted that, thanks to the aforementioned
threats, emperor and adelie penguins will
experience a steady decline in population size by
50 and 75 per cent respectively over the next 40
years, making present conservation eorts all the
more vital.
Emperor
Aptenodytes
forsteri
Macaroni
Eudyptes
chrysolophus
Little Penguin
Eudyptula minor
Chinstrap
Pygoscelis antarctica
African
Spheniscus
demersus
Gentoo
Pygoscelis
papua
King
Aptenodytes
patagonicus
Humboldt
Spheniscus
humboldti
Adelie
Pygoscelis adeliae
Fiordland
Galapagos
Eudyptes
Spheniscus
pachyrhynchus mendiculus
Yellow-eyed
Megadyptes
antipodes
Snares
Eudyptes robustus
Magellanic
Rockhopper
Eudyptes chrysocome Spheniscus
magellanicus
Erect-crested
Eudyptes sclateri
157
33. The yellow-eyed

penguin is the rarest
So endangered that a dedicated
conservation organisation has been set
up for it, the yellow-eyed penguin is
the Earths rarest species of penguin,
with around 5,000 individuals extant
and 2,000 breeding pairs left in their
native habitat. Despite being unique to
New Zealand, human development and
interference has left the yellow-eyed
now most numerous on the countrys
southern-most islands.
Yellow-eyed penguins hunt for food
primarily over New Zealands nearby
continental shelf, which lies roughly

1.6 kilometres (one mile) offshore and
extends out to 25 kilometres (16 miles).
Like all penguin species, their diet
largely consists of sh, which the
yellow-eyed harvest by diving down to
120 metres (394 feet) into the ocean
waters. They are also among the
longest living penguin species, capable
of hitting 20 years in age. Males tend
to live longer than females, leaving the
species with a male-to-female ratio of
2:1 after about ten years of age.
34. The
emperor
stands over
a metre high
The largest penguin species is
the emperor penguin, which
averages 1.15 metres (3.8 feet)
in height, but can oen surpass
a whopping 1.3 metres (4.3 feet),
with these giants towering over
lesser species with ease.
35. They
mainly walk at
two miles
per hour
Almost all penguins waddle at
around 3.2 kilometres per hour
(two miles per hour) on land.
However, this rule is broken by
the king penguin, which has a
dierent gait and can walk at up
to 5.6 kilometres per hour (3.5
miles per hour).
36. Only the

adelie and
emperor
actually live in
Antarctica
While penguins are oen
thought to inhabit Antarctica
exclusively, only two types live
on the continent proper, with
the emperor and adelie species
braving its extreme climate.
Older and wiser

The yellow-eyed
penguin is also one
of the longest living
penguin species,
frequently surpassing
20 years in age.
New Zealand
YELLOW-EYED PENGUIN
Megadyptes antipodes
Class Aves
Yellow-eyed
penguin range
They are also among

the longest living
penguin species
158
Territory New Zealand

Diet Carnivore
Adult weight 5-8kg / 11-18lbs
Conservation Status
ENDANGERED
37. Chicks are

not waterproof
38. A wild
penguin lives
up to 20 years
In the wild penguins live to
between 15 and 20 years,
however in captivity that number
is closer to 30 years. The ocial
record for the oldest captive
penguin is 29 years, four months.
39. All the subspecies lay

eggs on land
Despite all penguin species
preferring a water habitat, they
always return each year during
breeding season to lay their eggs
on land, which take between 32
and 68 days to hatch.
40. A group of
young chicks is
called a creche
Penguin young sometimes group
together in what is referred to as
a creche. A group of fully grown
penguins, however, is referred to
as a ra.
41. The
chinstrap
is the most
aggressive
Chinstrap penguins not only ght
ercely with one another during
the breeding season, but also
engage in thieving behaviour,
oen stealing choice pebbles
from rival nests, to supplement
their own homes.
Adult penguin plumage isnt

acquired until a year aer birth.
Until then the chicks have thinner
and less waterproof plumage.
42. They cover

their feathers with
a protective oil
All penguins have evolved a feature that helps
them care for and maintain their feathers.
Each penguin comes packing a uropygial
gland, a special oil-producing gland near the
animals tail feathers that it can harvest with
its beak and then spread over its body.
This oil acts as an extra barrier for
the penguin, protecting its feathers
from damage and ensuring its plumage
remains dry. The activity of harvesting the
gland and covering the feathers is referred to as
preening, with penguins spending parts of each
day working on their feathers. If a penguin works
on anothers coat its referred to as allopreening.
LEFT In order
to stay smooth
in the water,
a penguin can
produce an oil
to spread over
its body
Penguins
45. They swim
at six miles
per hour
On average penguins swim at six
miles (9.7 kilometres) per hour,
however when hunting or being
chased by predators this spikes
massively, with certain species
frequently hitting over 20 miles
(32 kilometres) per hour.
46. Humans
ate penguins
KING PENGUIN
Aptenodytes patagonicus
Class Aves
Territory Subantarctic islands

Diet Carnivore
Adult weight 11-16kg / 24-35lbs
Conservation Status
Speed demon
Most penguins waddle when
on land, but the king penguin
walks, enabling it to travel at
up to 3.5 miles per hour.
LEAST CONCERN
43. The king is a fast walker

The king penguin is notable for being the second
largest of all penguin species, measuring up to a
metre in height. Its also capable of diving down
to 300 metres (984 feet) in ocean waters and
remaining there hunting and foraging for a rather
lengthy ve minutes. Also, rather than waddling on
land like all other penguin species, king penguins
can walk and run properly due to adaptations in
their leg anatomy, with speeds up to 5.6 kilometres
(3.5 miles) per hour recorded.
King penguins are also known for congregating
in some of the Earths largest penguin colonies,
with St. Andrews Bay on South Georgia frequently

witnessing more than 100,000 birds at any one
time. On a breeding note, the king penguin is
also interesting as its one of the earliest capable
of reproducing, with individuals able to start the
process from the age of three onwards, but most
waiting a further three years before mating.
The king also has one of the longest breeding
cycles, with up to 16 months necessary to raise a
chick from egg-laying through to edging status.
Female kings always lay a single egg that weighs
approximately 300 grams (10.6 ounces).
During the early explorations of

the Antarctic, human explorers
ate penguins as a food source.
They reportedly had very fatty
and oily meat, but today penguin
consumption is forbidden.
47. They dont

fear humans
Due to their general remoteness
from human populations and
their activities, penguins seem to
be completely unafraid of them,
oen being greatly intrigued.
48. Penguins
are preyed
upon by killer
whales
Penguins are oen preyed
upon by a variety of creatures
including leopard seals, sea lions
and killer whales. They are also a
target for large birds, ferrets and
even lizards.
49. The
emperor is the
fth heaviest
bird on Earth
50. They
spend 75%
of their lives
underwater
44. Penguins create a

bubble boost when swimming
Penguins can swim at great speeds thanks to an ability to generate a stream
of bubbles in their wake. These come from the penguin ung its tightly
packed feathers, an action that creates a series of micro bubbles to reduce
the density of the water immediately surrounding the birds plumage.
Whenever a penguin travels at high speed, a visible stream of bubbles
can be seen surrounding their bodies and trailing o. This technique is oen
used when exiting the ocean.
Bubbly wake
Penguins create this
stream of bubbles that
reduces water density
around their plumage.
Rather than primarily being a

land-dwelling ightless bird,
penguins actually spend 75 per
cent of their lives underwater,
only really coming onto land for
long periods to breed.
159
Ardea; Thinkstock; FLPA; Getty; Naturepl.com
Not only is the emperor penguin

the heaviest penguin in the
world, but its also the h
heaviest bird of any species on
Earth, weighing in at a rather
beefy 45 kilograms (100 pounds).
tr Sp
ia ec
l o ia
ff l
er
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