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Shark Senses

How Do Sharks Hunt Prey

Shark Senses – How Do Sharks Hunt Their Prey?

Aug 15 2018
23 Comments
Epic
shark research, species profile

Perfectly evolved over 500 million years and surviving 5 mass extinction events, sharks are true super predators. So how do they do it? What senses come in to play as sharks hone in on their prey? Here’s a quick look at each of the shark senses, and how each help make them successful predators.

Shark Senses – Long Range

Hearing. A long range and highly developed sense, the auditory system of sharks can give important information about potential prey. This will often occur well before the animal is in visual range. They are especially tuned in to low frequency sounds, the kind made by a wounded or struggling fish, and are able to detect them often from distances greater than a kilometer away!

The Sense of Smell. It’s true, sharks have a great sense of smell. You may have heard some of those interesting little factoids such as sharks being able to smell a drop of blood in an Olympic- sized swimming pool. Well, it’s not far off from the truth. Sharks sense of smell (olfaction) is remarkably effective and fine tuned to pick up the amino acids in proteins, such as blood. Studies have shown sharks to be able to detect 1 part per 20 million parts water! This is likely one of the first senses that clues sharks in to potential prey items at a distance.

Shark Senses – Mid Range

Vision. Contrary to some myths out there, sharks actually have good eyesight, as far as fish are concerned. They lack color vision and only see in black and white, but still possess the visual sensory equipment to produce focused images. Water conditions play a big role and low light or murky water will have a big impact on their visual acuity. Take a look at our blog focused on Shark Vision for more details.

The Lateral Line – Mechanosense. Sharks have evolved another sense that is quite foreign to humans. The lateral line system is a series of canals located throughout the sharks body with openings to the skin. It allows for water to enter and is very sensitive to picking up water movements. Because of this, sharks are able to tune in to the vibrations caused by wounded or struggling fish, again helping them to hone in on potential prey.

shark lateral line
Shark Lateral Line System – illustration by Chris Huh

Shark Senses – Close Range

Ampullae of Lorenzini – Electrosense. Another sense unfamiliar to us is electrosense. This is the shark’s ability to detect the weak electrical field given off by all living things. This highly tuned sense is thanks to countless small pores located throughout the sharks skin. Mostly concentrated around the snout, they are called the ampullae of Lorenzini. These gel filled pores help amplify these weak electrical signals allowing sharks to detect prey even if it’s completely hidden, such as in the sand. It’s effective at close range, typically within 1 meter or less.

ampullae of lorenzeni
Shark Electroreception – illustration by Chris Huh

Touch. Obviously a close range sense, sharks will often bump potential prey items before taking a bite to get a better sense of what they’re dealing with. Lacking hands, it’s common for sharks to investigate items in the water column by hitting with their snout or even “feeling” with their mouths. This is the reason for the often described bump and bite scenario, and also a reason that we let divers know they cannot let sharks bump into them, as it’s often followed by a test bite.

Taste. Like us, sharks have taste buds in their mouths, making it the final sense involved in determining if a shark has found it’s next meal, or made a mistake. We have no idea what tastes good to a shark, but given the frequency that shark-human interactions only end in a single bite, and our terrestrial nature, it seems we are certainly not on the top of the shark menu.

Video of a Tiger Shark hunting a turtle (Australia)

There you have it! Hopefully you found this quick summary of Shark Senses helpful in understanding how sharks interact with their environment.

Wanting to observe some incredible shark behavior for yourself? Join us for an unforgettable shark diving adventure to witness these magnificent animals in their natural habitat:

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23 Comments

  1. Karson Meadows February 13, 2019 at 9:58 am Reply

    This was very helpful for information about sharks expecally to do a 5 paragraph essay.

    • Epic February 13, 2019 at 10:20 am Reply

      Thanks so much for checking out our site and glad you found the article helpful!

  2. Bradley Randolph February 13, 2019 at 3:52 pm Reply

    Thanks for the info it really helped with my research oaper on how sharks hunt.

    • Epic February 17, 2019 at 9:47 pm Reply

      Glad it helped!!

  3. Cooper patton February 20, 2019 at 1:54 pm Reply

    Thanks for the help if it was not for you making this i couldn’t do it

    • Epic February 20, 2019 at 11:49 pm Reply

      Thanks for checking out the blog!

  4. Chloe. Fife February 22, 2019 at 10:06 am Reply

    Thank you fore the helpful information it really helped me??❤️

    • Epic February 22, 2019 at 10:09 am Reply

      Happy you found the information helpful!

  5. Epic May 23, 2019 at 12:03 am Reply

    Thanks for the comments everyone!

  6. lego May 6, 2020 at 12:47 pm Reply

    cool. i’m studying sharks today

    • Epic May 7, 2020 at 6:55 pm Reply

      Great! Hope you find the post helpful. There’s another on Shark Vision too! Check it out 🙂

  7. Garasmom March 13, 2021 at 7:52 pm Reply

    Concise and helpful.

    • Epic March 14, 2021 at 9:25 am Reply

      Glad you found the article helpful and thanks for checking out our website!

  8. fish August 26, 2021 at 11:12 pm Reply

    lol, I have to do a summary of how sharks hunt 🙂

    • Epic August 27, 2021 at 11:12 am Reply

      That’s great! I hope you found the article helpful 🙂

  9. Sailor moon December 9, 2021 at 4:38 pm Reply

    Hi😅

    • Epic December 12, 2021 at 9:03 pm Reply

      Thanks for checking out our blog!

  10. Hoor April 12, 2022 at 4:46 am Reply

    Thanks this will help me a lot in my research.

    • Epic April 13, 2022 at 5:49 pm Reply

      Glad you liked the article and thanks for checking out our blog!

  11. Hoor April 20, 2022 at 3:23 am Reply

    I am writing my research and i need the organization responsible for the website. Where can i find it.

    • Epic April 20, 2022 at 4:16 pm Reply

      Thanks for checking out our blog and glad to hear the article was helpful in your project. Here’s the citation:

      Canabal, Vincent. “Shark Senses – How Do Sharks Hunt Their Prey?” Epic Diving, 15 Aug. 2018, https://www.epicdiving.com/shark-senses-hunting.

      • hoor May 13, 2022 at 5:31 am Reply

        thanks

        • Epic July 16, 2022 at 4:04 pm Reply

          Glad you liked the article!

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