Ocean Predators Page #2

During the daytime, the reef sharks

sleep on sandy ground and in caves.

They sleep off the nocturnal hunt.

Unlike many other sharks,

the different reef sharks

do not necessarily have

to be in motion to breathe.

By opening and closing their mouths,

they can create enough water

passing through the gills

to extract oxygen out of the water.

In our ranking,

all the different reef shark species

only occupy the lower end,

but they are still

dangerous predators ranked

high on the food chain

of their reefs.

On the other hand,

they are completely harmless for divers,

so it is possible to observe everything

about them that fascinates us.

If you are underwater,

it is very likely that you will

come across a reef shark sooner or later,

because this species is so

geographically widespread

in warm temperate seas.

These two clown fish

always rest in their favourite place,

near a protective sea anemone.

With it, they live in a symbiosis.

The anemone is toxic to most fish.

However, the skin of the clown fish

is immune to their poison

and, so, the clown fish

hides in its tentacles

whenever the next

dangerous predator shows up.

Within this colourful coral world,

there is yet another highly specialized

hunter at home, the nurse shark.

The family of nurse sharks can grow from

1 .5 feet to 14 feet in length,

making them double the length

of the whitetip reef shark.

The most unusual thing

about the shark is its liver.

It can weigh up to 88 pounds,

20 times heavier than a human liver.

The liver is so large

because, unlike bony fish,

sharks don't have swim bladders.

They instead rely on their livers

to produce an oil

which gives them buoyancy.

These hunters can be found,

not only in the East Pacific,

but also at the coast

regions of the Atlantic.

If the nurse shark decided to attack,

he would only need one bite.

The reason for that is the mouth

construction of the nurse shark.

It works like a vacuum cleaner,

and sucks the prey in.

Hunting, he shows the typical

behaviour of the nurse sharks,

searching in columns

or under rubble for hidden prey,

which he will simply suck into his mouth

and do his best to filter the water.

Although remnants of coral and algae

have been found

in the stomachs of nurse sharks.

The vacuum effect not only

makes hunting easier for the nurse shark,

it also allows him to breathe

while he's not moving.

The nurse shark is one of

a few types of shark with this capability.

This gentle shark

can be quite lazy during the day.

Caves, little sandy places,

or under coral columns

are perfect places for a nap.

This is when he

likes to be around his own kind

who enjoy the quietness of the day with him.

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