Thought it was about time I did another shark update. I have just discovered that you can get google to give you updates everytime there is a shark attack. I would STRONGLY recommend this – it’s great. You get to heaer about every attack straightaway.
The Basking Shark – chosen for this update as you have quite a good chance of seeing one over the summer, especially off Devon, Cornwall and Scotland. We are going to Cornwall in less than 2 weeks and I will be looking out all the time.
The Basking Shark is the best British Shark. It is very big and often gets mistaken for the Great White.
You can see why here – this one is dead:
Basking Sharks are in fact filter feeders so they don’t have any proper teeth.
Basking sharks, scientific name Cetorhinus maximus, are the second biggest fish in the world, the largest being the tropical whale shark. These harmless plankton-eaters are said to grow up to 13.72 m in length with their enormous dorsal fins rising up to 2 m above the surface of the water.
They can weigh up to 7 tonnes, a similar weight to two elephants. Experts have estimated that a single basking shark can filter the planktonic shrimp out of enough seawater to fill a 50m swimming pool every hour. On the Isle of Man you might see them feeding with their enormous mouths agape, witness their courting behaviour, or, very rarely, you might see one breach, leaping out of the water like an enormous salmon. This is a sight you are unlikely to forget in a hurry!
scruffian 