Chumming the Water Trivia Quiz

Answer: Tiger shark

Many people are unaware of just how aggressive the tiger shark actually is. It is an indiscriminate feeder that will eat almost anything. Unlike other sharks which are known to bite humans and then let them go, the tiger shark will usually not release a human once they have latched on.

This shark is usually found in warm tropical waters and grow to 16 ft. (5 meters) long. Their name comes from the stripes that they sport while they are juveniles. As they age the stripes disappear and they develop a more solid color. This shark is a solitary hunter and is known to interact with other sharks only to mate. Their tendency to enter canals and harbors, as well as the habit of eating almost anything, makes the tiger shark one of the most dangerous predators in the sea.

Answer: False

The whale shark is the largest fish in the world. But it is a gentle giant and feasts on plankton. They eat while swimming with their cavernous mouths wide open. The whale shark has an unusual coloring that includes light spots and stripes on a dark background. An adult whale shark is usually around the size of school bus and makes its home in warm tropical waters found around the world.

Answer: Great white shark

At over 20 ft. long (6 meters)and weighing over 5000 lbs. (2,268 kg), the great white shark holds the title as the world's largest predatory fish. This shark bites more humans every year than any other shark, but rarely kills anyone. They are very curious animals and will bite, usually in an attempt to see what the object is.

After realizing that an object and/or person is not part of their regular diet they will then release it and swim away. This apex predator is found in clear coastal waters around the world and have a diet that features seals, sea lions, turtles, and small whales.

Answer: Most Greenland sharks are blind

As odd as it might sound, most Greenland sharks are blind by the time they are adults. This occurs because of parasitic copepods which attach themselves to the small eyes of this shark. As they make their home in the icy waters around Greenland and hunt in the deep water, this loss of vision is not as debilitating as it would be to other sharks.

Some of their favorite prey animals include narwhals, sea lions, salmon and beluga whales.

Answer: Goblin shark

This photo shows the heads of two goblin sharks. There is very little known about this bottom dwelling species. One quarter of its weight is found in its large liver, and it has an unusual pink colored skin which is believed to bruise easily. The electro-sensitive organs found on their broad, flat snouts are used to locate prey on the ocean floor.

The goblin shark is one of the few sharks that is able to remain completely still which it uses for surprise attacks on prey animals. They are known to feed on crustaceans, cephlapods and deep sea rockfish.

Answer: On the ocean floor

The flattened angel shark lives on the bottom of the ocean. They lay on the sandy bottom and can wait, without moving, for any small prey to swim by. Their skin has been used for centuries as a type of natural sand paper. They have very sharp teeth, and sand-colored skin which helps provide camouflage. Often mistaken for some type of ray, these sharks prey on mollusks, flounders, crustaceans, and squid.

They are a very adaptable shark and will move all around the ocean following its prey. The angel shark is one of the most endangered species of all sharks.

This is due to indiscriminate hunting practices. It is marketed as one of the oceans most delectable products, and the high price paid for these animals ensures that populations will continue to decline. Add to this a slow reproductive cycle, and extinction looms right around the corner.

Answer: Plankton

The huge basking shark is a filter feeder which feasts on large amounts of plankton and krill. Swimming along with its mouth agape, it filters large amounts of water through its gill rakers in order to retrieve nourishment. They have hundreds of small teeth which point backwards and are of very little use.

The basking shark is a somewhat social shark and can be seen traveling in groups. They are sometimes referred to as sun fish because they stay at the surface of coastal waters around the world. Basking sharks give birth to the largest shark pups in the world, but swim away immediately after giving birth, leaving the pups to fend for themselves.

Answer: Saw shark

This is an image of the strange beast known as a saw shark. These long-snouted sharks are characterized by their elongated snouts equipped with sharp tooth-like projections on each edge. These small sharks use their snouts to slash and cut smaller fish and cephalopods when hunting for food. Saw sharks are bottom feeders and can be found in oceans around the world.

Answer: They are caring mothers who spend up to a year with their babies

The bull shark is one of the most dangerous sharks on the planet. It is believed to be the culprit in many of the fatal shark attacks around the world. They have high levels of testosterone and are very aggressive. They can be found in both salt water and have been known to swim up fresh water rivers from the ocean.

They are found in oceans all around the planet. The false statement has to do with their behavior as mothers. Females breed for the first time at around the age of ten years. After a gestation of approximately a year, they give birth to a litter numbering from 4-12 pups.

They leave immediately after giving birth and the babies are left to survive on their own. The bull shark is one of the few sharks on the planet whose numbers remained stable throughout the 20th century.

Answer: Oceanic whitetip shark

If you look closely at the picture you can see the coloring on the long fin which gives the Oceanic whitetip shark its name. A slow-moving shark, it is notable for its aggressive feeding frenzies and is blamed for many of the deaths of shipwreck survivors while they are still in the water.

Many experts consider the whitetip to be one of the most dangerous sharks in the ocean. While their numbers have declined in the latter half of the 20th century, the whitetip can still be found worldwide. It swims in the upper layer of the ocean and is usually found in the open ocean as opposed to off-shore locations.

The main reason for the population decline of the whitetip is the practice of finning. In this shameful practice the shark is hunted and then killed in order to get its fin in order to make shark fin soup.

The rest of the animal is then usually just thrown away.