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How do hammerhead sharks help the ocean?
Sharks keep ocean ecosystems in balance Sharks are the apex predators in marine ecosystems, which means they have few natural predators and feed on animals below them in the food web. Sharks limit the abundance of their prey, which then affects the prey of those animals, and so on throughout the food web.
Why should we save hammerhead sharks?
Why do we need to protect sharks? Sharks play a crucial role in healthy ocean ecosystems because they are a top predator—they keep prey species populations at a healthy level and prevent algae overgrowth that advances the decline of coral reefs.
Why are sharks so important to the ocean?
As apex predators, sharks play an important role in the ecosystem by maintaining the species below them in the food chain and serving as an indicator for ocean health. They help remove the weak and the sick as well as keeping the balance with competitors helping to ensure species diversity.
Why sharks are so important?
Can a hammerhead bite you?
Most hammerhead species are fairly small and are considered harmless to humans. However, the great hammerhead’s enormous size and fierceness make it potentially dangerous, though few attacks have been recorded.
Why are sharks important?
Why does a hammerhead shark have a hammer head?
The unique ‘hammer’ shaped head helps the shark zone in on prey by detecting the direction of a scent, and enabling it to see prey both above and below at the same time. Like humans, hammerhead sharks are long-lived, reach maturity after several years, and have few babies.
How many hammerhead sharks are killed each year?
Hammerhead sharks are also threatened by culling through lethal shark control programs. In six years (2012-2018), 592 hammerheads sharks have been culled at an average of 99 per year (6). Hammerhead sharks have never been involved in a fatal incident.
How big do scalloped hammerhead sharks get?
Scalloped hammerhead sharks are usually between 1.5 to 3 m ( 5 to 10 ft) long and weigh between 80 to 100 kg (175 to 225 lb). The biggest among them is the great hammerhead shark.
Where to see hammerhead sharks in the wild and as pets?
The scalloped hammerhead is the most common shark from the larger type that it’s kept in captivity. If you are interested to see these types of sharks then you can visit the Adventure Aquarium (New Jersey), Georgia Aquarium (Atlanta), and the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay (Las Vegas). 5. Hammerhead sharks swim in schools