Short Story/ Humor/ Sharks
Did You Know…Sharks Have Been Around Longer Than Trees?
Sharks Roamed the Seas 50 Million Years Before Trees Were Even A thing!
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I have always thought of sharks as amazing sea monsters. They have nothing but respect from me — and fear, a lot of fear!
Thank you, Steven Spielberg, for that…
I’m not the only one, though. According to a study conducted by the Ocean Conservancy, more than 1 out of 2 people fear sharks despite the low probability of being attacked.
There are good reasons for that:
- Regenerative teeth: Sharks replace damaged teeth with new ones. They can shed thousands of teeth in their lifetime.
- Remarkable senses: They can sense a drop of blood from great distances as well as electrical fields produced by other animals.
- Ancient predators: Sharks used to hunt even dinosaurs!
Sharks are more ancient and adaptable than you think. In fact, they have been around for 400 million years and have survived five mass extinctions. This only makes them even cooler!
Not only that, but they are even older than trees. Long before trees started to dominate the landscape, sharks were already the ocean’s top predators. The earliest species we could call a “tree,” the now-extinct Archaeopteris, popped up around 350 million years ago. These ancient trees formed forests in places that are now desertic, like the Sahara.
But sharks? They just laugh at trees. They’ve been swimming around our oceans for 50 million years before trees were even a thing.
However, the number of sharks has dropped by 71% in recent years due to, well, you guessed it, humans — it’s always us. Apparently, the billion-dollar industry’s demand for shark fin soup is sadly more important than preserving these wonderful creatures. Trees might win the day after all…
So, next time you admire a tree or fear a shark, remember who’s been around longer. And maybe, just maybe, give sharks a break — they’ve earned it!
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