Trivia question for May-30-2011

Carter stepped it up a notch after Olivia was able to stump everyone with yesterdays trivia.  Lets see how Carter does with his today.  This is one of only a few species of shark able to endure freshwater for long periods of time.

They have even been known to travel as far up as Indiana in the Ohio River and Illinois in the Mississippi River, although there have been few recorded attacks. As a result, they are probably responsible for the majority of near-shore shark attacks, including many attacks attributed to other species.

These sharks live all over the world in many different areas and travel long distances. It is common in coastal areas of warm oceans, in rivers and lakes, and occasionally salt and freshwater streams if they are deep enough. It is found to a depth of 490 ft but does not usually swim deeper than 98 ft. In the Atlantic it is found from Massachusetts to southern Brazil, and from Morocco to Angola. In the Indian Ocean it is found from South Africa to Kenya, India, and Vietnam to Australia.

So here are Carter’s questions: Tell us what this shark is and tell us what is believed to be the reason why sharks do not contract many diseases, including cancer.  Also, these sharks are very opportunistic feeders but there is one food source they particularly like.  Tell us what that food source is.

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations goes out to Erika Dugas and William DuChatel for both getting the species correct. The shark we featured is the Bull Shark. The bull shark, also known as Zambezi shark or unofficially known as Zambi in Africa and Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a shark common worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in rivers. The bull shark is well known for its unpredictable, often aggressive behavior.

Scientists believe the reason Sharks do not contract many diseases such as cancer is due to their skeleton being made of cartilage, not bone. Most of a bull shark’s diet consists of bony fish and sharks, including other bull sharks, but it has a notorious appetite for small sharks, mainly the young of the Sandbar Shark. Their diet can also include turtles, birds, dolphins, terrestrial mammals, crustaceans and echinoderms. Bull sharks have been known to use the “bump-and-bite” technique to attack their prey. Relatively calm bull sharks can suddenly become violent and begin to bump divers.  Here is more on these unpredictable sharks: Bull Shark

Thanks for playing along 😉