I trust everyone is having a great week and is ready for another beautiful spring weekend.  I had a great swim at the hotel pool the other day so I wanted to end the week with an animal that lives in the water.  What can I say, my mind works in mysterious ways.  Anyhow, I wanted to talk to you about one of the coolest sharks, the Hammerhead Shark. With a quick glance you are able to tell that this is one interesting shark.

The hammerhead shark is an aggressive animal that feeds on smaller fish, squid, octopus and crustaceans.  They are able to use their unique head to help them find their food.  By having a head shaped this way they are able to have their eyes set far apart from each other. This wide range actually gives the hammerhead better vision than most sharks.  As well, this particular shark also relies heavily on other senses to detect their prey.  For example they are able to fit many ampullae of Lorenzini on their long head.  This special sensory organ allows the shark to detect the electrical field of yummy food such as the stingray.  Once they detect the stingray, the shark is able to pin it down using its uniquely shaped head.  Who would have thought that there were so many uses for an odd shaped head.

The hammerhead shark is unique among the fish species as it does not lay eggs.  They actually give birth to live young that can range from 6 to 50 “pups”.  The newborn shark will have a more rounded head than it’s parents but eventually will get that fun hammerhead look.  The shark has many enemies until it reaches maturity.  As you can imagine the adult sharks have very few natural predators. This makes sense because who in their right mind would go out of their way to attack a shark?

Well folks, that wraps up another fun-filled week of animal facts.  Be sure to join us on Monday for another thrilling adventure into the wild. Have a great weekend!