What attracts sharks the most? If you ask this question to anybody you will 90 % get the answer – blood! People always described sharks as the bloodthirsty man-eater giant creatures of the ocean – credit goes to social media, movies and shark documentaries! But that’s not the truth!
Although sharks are attracted to blood, there are certain other things that attract sharks as well! Move on to find out about the mysterious gadgets that fascinate the sharks!! Let’s begin!
What attracts sharks the most?
To avoid any incident, there are several things you should know that appeal to sharks the most while swimming in the ocean water! Here we go!
Blood
Sharks can smell a single drop of blood in the water miles away from them – well that’s not true but yes sharks are blessed with a very strong sense of smell, they can smell the scent of blood molecules in the water and get attracted towards it. Not just the blood, but any of the body fluid that may attract the sharks!
Sharks are more likely to be attracted to the blood of their prey such as small fishes, sea lions, squids, crustaceans, and other sharks. Despite of human’s blood, sharks are more attracted to human activities rather than the odors of their body.
Warning: Though sharks do not like human blood but it is highly recommended that if you bleed, avoid visiting the oceans or diving into the deep water!
Food
Food is a basic necessity for every living being either on the land or deep in the water. Sharks are also magnetized toward the smell of the food. Many people use chums (the chunks of food) or bloody parts of the fish as bait to attract sharks by throwing the rope tied to their favorite prey. Moreover, the water creatures such as turtles or fish attract sharks! How foodies they are!
Color
Yellow! The appealing color of the Great White sharks!
Sharks are attracted to bright colors rather than light colors, they are more attracted to red, yellow, orange and white colors. If you are wandering in the misty waters and you wear any of these colors, there is a high chance that you may receive a shark’s bite as they detect these colors frequently.
However, the dark and muted colors are least appealing to sharks such as black and brown are not visible to them underwater.
Jewelry
If you don’t want to attract sharks while enjoying the ocean water then you should avoid wearing silver jewelry or precious metals – it attracts the sharks because it looks like the shiny scales of a fish to sharks and other predators of the oceans! Don’t risk your life!
Sound
Despite having a good sense of smell, sharks follow the sound more to travel in the oceans. Sound made by splashing of water, swimmers in trouble or injured fishes attract sharks more than the smell of the prey.
The lowest sound frequency of 10 to 50 hertz and the highest sound frequency up to 800 hertz can be detected by sharks. Sharks possess lateral line organs and inner ear which helps them to detect the sound made by their prey at an average distance of 250 meters or even more.
What does it conclude?
Like humans, sharks are also attracted to certain things such as the blood, food, specific colors, the particular movement of the prey and the sound! That’s why it has always been recommended that if you are bleeding or wearing any jewelry while planning to go diving, cancel your plans or place your objects aside, otherwise sharks will welcome you with the bites in their homeland!
