How Do Sharks Catch Their Food?

There are more than 350 species of shark on Earth and each of them needs food. It may seem as if a shark swims lazily along the ocean flood look along the ocean floor, hoping for a meal to swim by. That's not the case. Sharks are predators; when a shark is hungry, it hunts. Sharks rely heavily on their finely tuned senses when hunting.

  1. How Sharks Hunt

    • Similar to radar, sharks have an electrosensory system allowing them to scan the water and search for electric impulses given off by prey. A shark uses its sense of smell and hearing to confirm the prey's whereabouts; once the prey is spotted, the shark is ready to strike.

    What Sharks Eat

    • Sharks often eat fish, such as cod, salmon, herring and sea bass. Sharks also eat crustaceans, mollusks and mammals. If a shark can reach the surface in time, it probably won't turn down a bird. Larger sharks, including the white shark, eat larger creatures such as sea lions, sea turtles and even other sharks. Many sharks aren't picky eaters, however, some have their preferences. The hammerhead shark eats sting rays; the bull shark eats smaller sharks.

    How Sharks Eat

    • When a shark catches its prey, it clamps down and locks it jaws. Sharks don't usually chew their prey to kill it. Instead of gnawing it to death, a shark keeps hold of its prey in its jaws and swims toward the bottom of the ocean. Once the prey is dead, a shark tears it apart with its sharp teeth. Sharks have between five and 15 rows of teeth in each jaw.

    Interesting Facts

    • Sharks are cold-blooded and don't have to eat as much food as humans. Sharks eat about 2 percent of their body weight each day, less than a human consumes. Some sharks can survive for up to a year without eating. When a shark doesn't eat, it survives by using the oil stored in its liver for fuel. Sharks have a reputation for being man-eaters, however, fewer than 10 people are attacked and killed by sharks each year.