Bull Shark Hunting and Feeding
If we're going to talk about the bull shark's diet, we need to break it up into the freshwater menu and the saltwater menu. When ocean-bound, bulls eat bony fish, stingrays, dolphins, sea turtles, other sharks, mollusks, crustaceans and all kinds of other schooling fish. They hunt alone, instead of in groups, and although they appear slow as they troll the ocean floor, they're known for their agility and quick bursts of speed -- up to 11 miles per hour. This may not sound too quick, but when you see a 10-foot shark coming your way at that speed, you may rethink your definition of fast. They're also not afraid to pick on someone their own size or even larger, something most other sharks won't do.
When the bulls hit freshwater, their diet gets a little more interesting. They feast on tarpon fish, crabs, shrimp, squid, sea urchins, turtles and sawfishes. Not interesting? How about birds, sloths, dogs, rats, cows and antelope? There have been reports in Australia of river-dwelling bulls eating horses, and in Mozambique, they feed on hippos. It's not exactly what you'd expect to find on a shark's menu, but bull sharks are opportunists -- they even eat their own kind if necessary.
The bull's hunting technique is known as the "bump and bite." This means that they will typically head-butt their prey before sinking their teeth into it. The bump is an investigative technique used to help the nearly blind shark figure out what it's about to bite. If you're scuba diving and get bumped by a bull shark, you're in trouble. Another technique the bull uses to make up for its poor vision is to hunt in murky water. Like other sharks, they're able to find their prey with their keen sense of smell. In shadowy waters, bulls can sniff out prey that can't see its approaching predator.
Like many other
fish, the main threat to the bull shark is man. It's hunted all over the world
and used for many different purposes. The bull's hide is tanned for leather and
its liver is used for oil. A bull shark's meat is sold fresh, frozen or smoked
for food, and their fins are used in Asia in
shark-fin soup. In addition to the commercial use, they're also a popular fish
for sport fisherman, due to their size and proximity to the shoreline. For many
of these bulls, it's a mounted jaw and a photograph before their carcass is
dumped back into the ocean. The result of all this fishing is that the bull
shark is close to being placed on the threatened list. But since it's not
officially threatened, it's not legally protected anywhere in the world. |
For more information on shark and other sea life, please see the links on the following page.
