Are sharks blind? No! They have poor vision but they are not blind! You will better choose the color of your suit when you plan to go swimming in the shark’s hometown! They were able to detect color and are attracted towards the colors you are wearing! So be careful!
Shark’s vision depends on the environmental factors of their hunting place, such as the sharks which thrive at the bottom of the ocean are able to see bioluminescence. But the question is still unclear: how can sharks interpret colors? Are they able to see colors? Let’s read the article to find the answers!
Do sharks see colors?
Yes! Sharks are able to see different colors but due to poor vision, they are sometimes unable to distinguish between colors. Like humans, sharks have photoreceptors in the retina of an eyes, both rods and cones are present in the retina that aids in the discrimination of different wavelength of light– rods helps them to detect an object in low light and cones provide them good vision in bright light.
What colors do sharks see?
colors like the shades of green and blue are detected by sharks but are not attracted towards them whereas bright colors such as red, yellow and orange attract the sharks most. The sharks are attracted more towards bright colors because of the pigments and texture that reflect the light.
Which colors attract sharks the most?
Sharks are able to see contrast and bright colors more clearly than the light and dark shades. Let’s see how sharks respond when they see the colors:
Contrasting colors
Sharks can see contrast colors more clearly than the light shade colors. When sharks see the typical black suit of the divers with contrasting colors like yellow, silver or white, they attack the divers! This is the reason the number of unprovoked attacks by sharks has been increasing day by day. It has been reported that wearing contrasting colors like silver or white, 23 % of divers have shark bites!
Bright colors
Bright colors like orange, yellow and red attract sharks the most! Yum yum yellow – The rescue teams near the open water typically use yellow color safety gadgets like life rafts. The bright colors also make swimmers and divers more visible to sharks which make them confused between humans and prey, thus they attack humans! Mistaken identity!
Metallic or reflective colors
The scales of fishes have metallic or silvery appearance -have reflection! Anything that divers or swimmers wear that looks like the scales of fishes can attract sharks. Jewelry, watches, and silver suits reflect light near the shoreline which makes sharks imagine them as prey.
Warning: it is highly recommended to avoid any object that reflects light because it attracts sharks.
Can sharks see all colors?
No! Sharks cannot see all colors! Sharks do not have a well developed sense of vision! Despite having rods and cones in the retina of the eyes, they are not capable of distinguishing all colors, they are able to detect specific colors like yellow, orange, red – the bright colors! You are amazed to know that sharks cannot distinguish any object black or white in color.
What colors do sharks hate the most?
As a diver, you probably want to attract sharks but as a typical swimmer, you don’t need their attention – if yes then you should wear dark colored swimsuits like blue, brown, or black shades that will help you to blend with the ocean environment and avoid the shark’s attack.
Bottom line
Sharks can see different colors but they do not have strong vision, they can detect some specific colors such as yellow, white, red or silver which attract them the most. However they can also see shades of black, brown or blue but these colors are less appealing to them. If you want to swim with sharks do not wear bright or contrasting colors! It is advised to wear muted or natural colors to avoid shark’s attention!
