Prehistoric Jaws

 Prehistoric Jaws

Today, the sharks are the hunted and no longer the hunters. Let's support the campaign: Stop killing the sharks.

Dr Abe V Rotor

Carcharodon megalodon's jaws were big enough to hold these six men! (Warren Allmon, Prehistoric Oceans, Paleontological Research Institution, NY )

Sharks have been on earth for more than 300 million years. They became diverse and abundant in the Cenozoic Era, after the dinosaurs have become extinct. C. megalodon is one of the most spectacular sharks, ancestor of the white shark depicted in Jaws, the movie. This extinct ancestor was however very much larger, it reached 50 to 60 feet long. Mysteriously all the giant sharks disappeared.

Today there are 400 species of sharks, all predators with only very few attacking humans. They are Nature's housekeepers, feeding on the dead and weak, while trimming down oversized populations of sea animals that threaten to disturb the balance of the ecosystem.

Today, the sharks are the hunted and no longer the hunters because of the big and increasing demand for their fins in restaurants all over the world. And because they are the most hated and misunderstood creature of the sea, their mere presence incites man's fear and anger. This is of course exaggeration and misconception.

The truth is they comprise an indispensable link in the food chain - just as we, humans comprise another link. Because a chain is as good as its links, the loss of one destroys the integrity of the whole chain. Let's support the campaign: Stop killing the sharks campaign posters.~

 

 Acknowledgement: Internet photos