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Hammerhead Shark & Hammerhead Shark Pictures
Shark size: The Great Hammerhead shark has been known to grow as large as 6m, although most Hammerhead sharks only reach about 3.5-4m. Hammerheads are born about 50-70cm long at birth. Habitat: Hammerhead sharks are found in both open deep ocean and shallow coastal waters. During summer they may make small migrations towards more northerly areas. The great hammerhead is observed in deep water off the fore reef, in channels, on the reef flat and in lagoons. Locations: Hammerhead sharks are found in tropical waters throughout the world. See Hammerhead distribution map below.
Feeding: Hammerheads mostly hunt at dusk and feeds on sharks, fishes (including catfishes, toadfishes, jacks, herring, groupers and boxfishes), squid, and crustaceans (including shrimps, crabs and mantis shrimps) that occur on or near the bottom. Larger specimens seem to have a particular fondness for skates and rays (including guitarfishes, butterfly rays, whiptail stingrays, cownose rays and eagle rays), which it has been observed chasing in shallow water. Behavior: The Great Hammerhead is a solitary species, rarely seen with other sharks. Scalloped and Smooth Hammerheads on the other hand form small and large schools. Scalloped Hammerhead sharks can often have hundreds of sharks in one school. All Hammerhead sharks migrate to warmer waters in the winter. Other sharks have been known to avoid Great hammerheads and schools Scalloped hammerheads out of fear of being eaten. Hammerheads often attack and eat other sharks. Diving with Hammerhead sharks: Hammerheads are safe for open water diving. Operators often bait the water to attract large schools of Hammerheads. Great Hammerhead sharks are often viewed in deep water a long way from the coast and currents can be strong. Generally most operators require you to be an experienced scuba diving with at least an open water diving certification. There has only been 12 reported cases of an unprovoked Hammerhead shark attack on a human. Hammerheads will often warn you with threatening postures before attacking. Places to see: Popular places to see Hammerhead sharks include South Africa, Galapagos Islands, Coco Islands, Great Barrier Reef (Australia) and some Indonesian islands. Huge schools of Scalloped Hammerheads can be seen at the Galapagos Islands, which is a truly amazing experience!
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