What is the Shark-Free Marina Initiative?
Archive for shark conservation
Tattoo of the Day
Posted in Tattoo of the Day with tags animal blog, animal blogs, Animal Rights, animal tattoos, Animal Trafficking, Animals, animals blog, Anti Poaching, Biodiversity., Bohemian Tattoo Arts, Bush Warrior Tattoo of the Dya, Bush Warriors Inked Nation for Conservation, China, Conservation, Current Events, Education, Egypt, Endangered Species, Environment, evolution, Extinction, illegal, Illegal Animal Trade, illegal hunting, Illegal Wildlife Trade, media frenzy, Nature, New Zealand, ocean conservation, overfishing, Pepa Heller, poaching, Red Sea, shark attack, shark conservation, shark fin soup, shark fin trade, shark finning, shark poaching, shark population, shark tattoo, sharks, Sharm el-Sheikh, stop poaching, tattoos, wild animal tattoos, wildlife, wildlife blog, wildlife blogs, wildlife conservation, wildlife conservation blog, wildlife tattoos on December 15, 2010 by Caroline Thompson
Tattoo by Pepa Heller.
After the media frenzy that has ensued following the bizarre and rare shark attacks in Sharm el-Sheikh, it’s no wonder so many people have an unnatural fear of these prehistoric creatures. Sharks are not furry and cuddly. Even still, they possess a beauty that tugs at the fabric of our egos. Powerful and sleek, they glide through the ocean with elegant efficiency. Four hundred million years of evolution has resulted in one of the most efficient marine predators, making the shark one of nature’s most fascinating examples of natural selection.
While some might think the shark is the ultimate predator, it is really humans that are truly the killers. Man is hunting many shark populations to the brink of extinction. Roughly 73 million sharks are killed for their fins every year. Some shark populations have declined by as much as 99% in the past 35 years and there are no multinational limits on shark fishing anywhere in the world, let alone regulations for international waters. Studies have shown that when shark populations crash, the impact cascades down through the food chain, often in unpredictable and deleterious ways. We depend on oceans to give us life on this planet, the marine ecosystem relies on these predators, and now these magnificent creatures are relying on us.
Remember: Tattoos are forever… and so is extinction. To see all of the FANTASTIC art featured on Bush Warriors Tattoo of the Day, and to learn more about this initiative, please click here. You can also share photos of your own wildlife tattoos and enjoy others’ at our Facebook group, Bush Warriors Inked Nation for Conservation.
Photo of the Day
Posted in Photo of the Day with tags ampullae, ampullae of Lorenzini, animal blog, animal blogs, animal photos, Animal Rights, Animals, animals blog, Antoni Emchowicz, Biodiversity., Bush Warriors Photo of the Day Contest, Conservation, Education, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Great White Shark, magnetic fields, Nature, nature photography, photo contest, Photography, Photos, poaching, shark biology, shark conservation, shark photography, shark photos, sharks, wildlife, wildlife blog, wildlife blogs, wildlife conservation, wildlife conservation blog, wildlife photography, wildlife photos on December 8, 2010 by Caroline Thompson
“Cheeeeeeeeeese!”
Photo credit: Antoni Emchowicz
This photo shows fantastic clarity! You can even see the ampullae of Lorenzini on the shark’s snout! The ampullae of Lorenzini are small electroreceptors that are part of a sensory network that lies right beneath the shark’s skin. To the naked eye they appear as small dark spots or pores around the head. This sixth sense detects minute magnetic fields in the water. How is this an advantage to a predator? Well, living creatures create small electrical pulses (called “potentials”) that are generated by muscle contractions. Even when lying still there is a muscle hard at work in every body- the heart! Sharks can sense the electricity generated by a beating heart to help locate prey whether they are buried in the sand or hiding in a kelp forest. Our earth also has its own magnetic field, which we use to find the directional points of a compass (North, South, East, West). Researchers hypothesize that sharks use the earth’s field to navigate the ocean the same way, using their sixth sense as an ‘internal compass.’ The ampullae also has a gel-like substance that gives the pores properties, similar to a semiconductor. Scientist believe the ampullae can translate temperature changes into electrical information, allowing the shark to detect temperature gradients in the water.
Please click here to see ALL of our Photo of the Day winners and for more information on the Bush Warriors Photo of the Day Contest, including how to enter. Enjoy the beauty of nature, just as it was intended to be!
Tattoo of the Day
Posted in Tattoo of the Day with tags animal blog, animal blogs, Animal Rights, animal tattoos, Animals, animals blog, Biodiversity., Boris tattoo artist, Bush Warriors Inked Nation for Conservation, Bush Warriors Tattoo of the Day, Conservation, Education, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Great Hammerhead, hammerhead shark tattoo, hammerheads, illegal, illegal hunting, Illegal Wildlife Trade, Nature, poaching, shark conservation, shark finning, shark fishing, shark tattoo, sharks, stop poaching, tattoos, wild animal tattoos, wildlife, wildlife blog, wildlife blogs, wildlife conservation, wildlife conservation blog, wildlife tattoos on December 8, 2010 by Caroline Thompson
Tattoo by Boris.
The largest great hammerhead on record was caught by fishermen in 2006 off the coast of Sarasota, Florida. The female shark was 14 feet long, weighed nearly 581 kilograms (1,280 pounds), and had a “hammer” that was more than three feet wide. In her stomach, they found an entire southern stingray and the rear half of a five foot (one and half meter) tarpon. She also had 52 near-term pups in her uterus. Her body was donated to Mote Marine Laboratory. Dr. Hueter, director if Mote Marine Laboratory’s Center for Shark Research had this to say about the shark:
“Although we are thankful that the fisherman gave this unique specimen to Mote, and we are learning a lot about this species from this large female shark, we were saddened to see so many unborn pups inside her so close to birth. We ask fishermen not to kill sharks for sport and to remember that shark populations have been severely depleted by overfishing. Very large sharks like this hammerhead are often pregnant females that help maintain the status of the species’ population into the future. We advocate release of these large sharks and the tagging of them whenever possible.”
Great hammerheads are listed as ‘endangered’ by the IUCN. According to the IUCN, “The Great Hammerhead is highly prized for its fins, and suffers very high levels of incidental mortality in other fisheries for tuna and tuna-like fishes. Like most other sharks, its slow growth and low reproduction rate makes it highly vulnerable to overexploitation. As a result, it has suffered serious declines, especially in parts of the eastern Atlantic where fishing effort is unmanaged and unmonitored.”
Remember: Tattoos are forever… and so is extinction. To see all of the FANTASTIC art featured on Bush Warriors Tattoo of the Day, and to learn more about this initiative, please click here. You can also share photos of your own wildlife tattoos and enjoy others’ at our Facebook group, Bush Warriors Inked Nation for Conservation.
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