I love animals - Information and questions for small kids - Part 4 Sharks

anneke (69)in #steemiteducation • 6 years ago (edited)

Not all animals live on land - we also find animals living in water. We call them 'aquatic' animals. Today we will be learning about a predator that lives in the sea, a marine animal, the shark.

What is another word for 'water'?
What is a predator?
Where do sharks life?

Sharks are something most of us are scared of and if you listen to the stories or watch the movies, we do believe that a shark just attacks and eats anything it comes across. This is not true. Shark attacks are not that many and believe it or not, a shark does not like the taste of humans..... they much rather prefer seals and fish.

There are many types of shark and the 'Great White' shark is most probably the best known.

Have a look at the picture and choose any 5 types of sharks - do research on them and find some interesting reading material or videos for extra videos.

Sharks have no bones in their body, but they do have a skeleton, it is just not made up of bone, it is made of cartilage - the same 'material' you find in your ear and nose - much more flexible than bone.

Sharks do not have lungs like humans, but they have gills like fish - the water moves over the gills and the oxygen is taken from the water. Some sharks can never stop moving, because they have to constantly let the water flow over the gills. If this does not happen, they will suffocate and die.

They have excellent hearing and smell - they can smell a drop of blood at a distance.

The whale shark is one of the biggest sharks and can grow up to 14 m in length. There are also types of sharks that are less than a meter long.

A baby shark is called a 'pup' and they have to look after themselves from the minute they are born. The moment they are born, they swim away as fast as they can, before the mother can eat them. Not all sharks give birth to live babies, some of them actually lie eggs called an 'egg case' and it will then later hatch.

find a picture of what the eggs of sharks look like

The most known but also deadliest and best hunter of all is the Great White Shark. They can swim very fast (up to 30 km/h) and they can even lift themselves out of the water to attack and catch a seal. This shark is warmblooded, the same as a human, and to prevent their bodies from loosing to much heat, they have to eat a huge amount of meat to give them the energy they need.

find a video of this shark in action

Sharks have lots of rows of teeth. Once the teeth in front falls out, the ones at the back just move forward. It just keeps on growing and moving forward.