Sharks are less dangerous to humans than bees

The shark occupies one of the lowest lines of the rating of the most dangerous animals on Earth. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the probability of dying in the sharp teeth of a shark is 1 in 3.7 million, while the probability of dying from a “microscopic” sting of a bee is 1 in 79842.

Between 2001 and 2011, 639 people died from bee cube in the United States (an average of 58 deaths per year), while only 10 people were killed by sharks (1 death per year).

Despite their formidable appearance, sharks became a victim of a real biocide. About 100 million sharks are killed each year. As a result, over the past half century, 90% of sharks of all species have been destroyed on Earth. Another 20 years, and some species of sharks will not be left a trace, which will entail a radical restructuring of the ecosystems of the World Ocean. This will happen for the following reasons.

Sharks, being super predators, are a powerful inducer of evolutionary processes in the World Ocean, it is thanks to them that most fish that are potential victims have acquired unique characteristics: camouflage, features of morphology and behavior. If there are no sharks, the biodiversity of the oceans will steadily decrease.

Sharks are an important part of the food chain. They are nurses who kill sick, weak and old individuals of various species of fish, and also restrain the growth of many species of fish. Moreover, sharks even play a climate-regulating role, controlling the number of individual species of fish that feed on planktonic organisms. Without sharks, these species will increase in number, and in turn reduce the biomass of phytoplankton, which plays a key role in the production of oxygen on our planet.

The causes of shark death are the developing countries of Southeast Asia. So, in China, shark fin soup is almost a national dish, without which no wedding or feast can do. Moreover, shark fins are extracted in a completely barbaric way, or rather, they are simply cut off from a live shark, and the helpless animal is slowly released to the seabed.



The sight of countless shark fins drying on the roofs of Hong Kong houses is surprising.

And finally, another interesting video about the important ecological role of sharks in the life of our planet.



Source: www.priroda.su/