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Bull Shark & Bull Shark Pictures
The Bull shark is a massive shark with a short, broad and blunt snout, small eyes and triangular saw-edged upper teeth; and lack of interdorsal ridge are sufficient to distinguish this species. Bull sharks are gray above, white below and fins with dark tips. Females tend to be larger up to 3.5 metres maximum length. Weight is around 300kg for a fully grown female. Shark size: Female Bull sharks tend to be larger in size than males and grow to up to 3.5 metres (12.5 feet). At birth the Bull shark ranges from 56-81cm (22-33in). Habitat: The bull shark spends most of its time in shallow waters of about 30 metres (100 feet) or less although they have been known to venture out to as deep as 150 metres (500 feet). The bull shark prefers sheltered areas like river mouths, bays and lagoons. The bull shark is the only shark species that tolerates fresh water. In fact, the bull shark has been found hundreds of miles upstream in fresh water rivers and lakes. While bull sharks can tolerate fresh water they prefer to live and breed in the sheltered shallow salty water. Locations: Bull sharks occur in tropical to subtropical coastal waters worldwide as well as in river systems and some freshwater lakes. It's not uncommon to find bull sharks thousands of miles inland. In the western Atlantic bull sharks migrate north along the coast of the U.S. during summer and then return to tropical climates when the coastal waters cool.
Feeding: The bull shark is a solitary hunter. Feeds on bony fishes, other sharks (esp. young Sandbar Sharks), rays, mantis shrimps, crabs, squid, sea snails, sea urchins, mammalian carrion, sea turtles, etc. and occasionally garbage. They also regularly consume juvenile sharks including small individuals of their own species in their inshore nursery habitats. Behavior: Bull sharks are sluggish and solitary, spending most of their time cruising through rivers and sheltered bays. They seem not to view humans as prey under normal conditions, but will bite out of curiosity or when threatened, or in water where visibility is poor and a human might easily be mistaken for a prey animal. Despite their docile appearance, Bull sharks are capable of surprising bursts of speed, and can be highly aggressive. Their aggression is fueled by testosterone. The bull shark has one of the highest testosterone levels of all animals. Diving with Bull sharks: Because Bull sharks prefer shallow, calm and fresh waters they often come into contact with humans. Bull sharks have been responsible for numerous shark attacks all over the world especially in the USA and Australia. Open water diving is possible with Bull sharks in some areas. Other operators offer cage diving for those less willing to take the plunge into open waters. If you choose open water diving you must be a qualified open water or advanced open water diver. For cage shark diving no certification is required. Places to see: Because Bull sharks are such widely spread throughout the world there are many places where you can dive with them. Two common and well known places for Bull shark diving are Fiji and the Great Barrier Reef (Queensland) Australia.
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