Team versus individual? Why are sharks afraid of dolphins? Who will reach the finish line faster - a dolphin or a shark? Can a dolphin kill a shark?
Such a terrible and bloodthirsty predator as a shark is terribly afraid of dolphins and, seeing them, tries to get away. But what is the reason for such panic fear? There are a number of versions that, one way or another, explain this behavior of sharks.
The most logical explanation seems to be that the sharks are fleeing, thereby trying to save their lives. Dolphins are schooling mammals that are also quite intelligent. It is known that dolphins are not at all so harmless, and they know how to defend themselves well. Seeing an aggressive shark, they immediately attack the predator in a whole flock, leaving the shark no chance of salvation. Even one dolphin is capable of inflicting a fatal blow on a shark with its powerful nose and rather strong frontal part. Accelerating to high speed and crashing into a shark, it will instantly kill this predator. It was noticed that the dolphin hits the shark in its weakest place - the gills, or crashes into the belly, which is no less dangerous. Dolphins defend themselves desperately and, having struck one blow, continue to attack the predator until they kill it. If the shark is lucky, it will have time to swim away.
This uneasy relationship between dolphins and sharks is a fairly constant occurrence. This contributed to the fact that the sharks developed a certain conditioned “reflex”. If a school of dolphins is circling near a shark’s prey, then even a very hungry shark would prefer to swim away rather than engage in battle with them.
The shark's fear of dolphins does not apply to all species. For example, sharks should not be afraid of killer whales at all, although it would be in vain. Killer whales love to frolic, and there have been cases when, during play, killer whales accidentally hit sharks on the head, thereby instantly taking their lives.
The myth about the harmlessness of dolphins was dispelled long ago. It's not just sharks that try to stay away from dolphins. There have been many recorded cases of dolphins mercilessly attacking porpoises, beating them to death with their noses. And they did this not at all because they were hungry.
But, on the other hand, there are legends about the bravery of dolphins. There is a documented case of dolphins saving four people from a giant white shark. This happened near the northern part of New Zealand. People were swimming when suddenly they were surrounded by a school of dolphins and squeezed into a tight ring. The dolphins did not allow people to get out of their cordon, no matter how hard they tried. Only after some time one man was able to escape and saw that a three-meter shark was swimming next to them, which, if not for the dolphins, would certainly have killed them. The dolphins held the line for almost 50 minutes, gradually bringing the people to the shore, and only then opened the ring, realizing that they were no longer in danger. This is not an isolated case. Dolphins often come out in defense of people, while attacking even very
It would be more correct to say: sharks are not afraid, but prefer not to mess with dolphins. Although, with a successful combination of circumstances, the toothy robbers will not refuse a dinner from several representatives of the “sea people”. This is how the ancient Greeks respectfully called dolphins.
The nature of the “fear” of sharks
And now about the fear of some animals by others. The fact is that these animals are at different intellectual levels. Shark is a representative of the class Cartilaginous fish. They are more ancient and primitive than the bony fish common in our waters. The presence of feelings in these animals is a topic of global scientific research. So far they have only instincts. The dominant one is the need for food. Next comes the need for survival and reproduction. Sharks, except for the smallest species, carry out their life program alone, meeting with their own kind only for a very short time for the sake of the reproduction process.
Dolphins are mammals that live in water. Therefore, in addition to basic instincts, in their lives there is a need for society. Dolphins of all types live in a school, within which they communicate, help the weak, the sick, women in labor and females with newborn dolphins. Animals hunt together and defend themselves from predators. Considering that, apart from sharks (and also people and killer whales, smaller species), no one purposefully hunts dolphins, it is against the legendary sea robbers that the animals organize group defense.
Fight for life
How does communication between two representatives of such different classes occur? Sharks, acting as a kind of orderlies of the sea, immediately identify an old, sick, injured or pregnant individual in a school of dolphins. It is she who they pursue or wait until the weakened animal lags behind the group. If the flock missed the moment, then the shark will eat the dolphin with great pleasure and move on.
But, given that dolphins have high intelligence and a quick reaction to changes in the environment, in 75 out of 100 cases they notice the shark in time and organize a collective fight back against the voracious predator.
Today there are several successful techniques that dolphins use:
The flock surrounds the predator and begins to massively hit it in the gill slits. It's like hitting a person in the solar plexus. If the fish does not retreat, then the blows of the dolphins can damage its respiratory organs. Deprived of the opportunity to obtain oxygen from the water, the shark ceases to be interested in the dolphin in general and the school in particular. With its gill slits broken, it is doomed to die. If before that it is not eaten by stronger and healthier relatives.
Large species of dolphins - beluga whales and killer whales - have learned to put fish into a state of tonic immobility. The animals hit one side of the shark with their snouts until it turns over. With its belly up, the fish begins a kind of paralysis - convulsive muscle contraction, as a result of which it loses the ability to move for several minutes. Divers use the same technique. By quickly grabbing the shark's tail and flipping it onto its back, they are able to take a selfie by sticking their hand into the fish's mouth.
There is evidence that a group of dolphins simply pushes a predator out of the water, holding it on its snouts until it suffocates. There is, however, an exception. If a shark, even a white one, is caught by a pod of killer whales, then after being suffocated, it will definitely be eaten.
Information transfer mechanism
Why do sharks let dolphins do this to them? The reason is simple. For many millions of years, the shark has been hunting according to one primitive pattern. It winds circles in a spiral around the selected victim, waiting for the moment for a convenient throw. For their part, dolphins have the ability to communicate. There is information about the language they use. Therefore, the proven tactics of “beating babies” are passed down from generation to generation, unlike fish, which have to comprehend the science of life on their own.
Now let's get back to the question of why sharks are afraid of dolphins. Those sharks that survived an encounter with dolphins, or witnessed a reprisal against a fellow shark, already at an unconscious level prefer to stay away from the school, give way to it, or attack a guaranteed lonely animal. Those who have not comprehended science, or who meet an organized group of dolphins for the first time, do not have much chance of survival.
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It has long been known that sharks prefer to avoid the company of dolphins. They swim away as soon as they see a school of bottlenose and white-sided dolphins, and try not to. At the same time, half-decomposed corpses of dolphins were repeatedly found in the stomachs of captured sharks.
What's the secret? And are the toothy queens of the seas really afraid of good-natured cetaceans? Let's try to figure it out.
Behavioral lines of sharks and dolphins
Sharks, as a rule, are cautious and cautious creatures. Perhaps it is thanks to these qualities that their evolution continues for millions of years, providing them with a place at the top of the food chain.
However, sharks are solitary predators. It is extremely rare that they gather in small groups, and even then only during the mating season, and then immediately separate.
Dolphins, unlike their reclusive neighbors, travel the ocean in close-knit groups, closely maintaining family ties. They take care of old or weak individuals and, most importantly, hunt and defend themselves together.
This does not mean that, seeing a predatory open mouth in the distance, dolphins immediately rush to kill their rival. On the contrary, it is sharks that usually initiate attacks.
Watch video - A shark attacked a dolphin:
As a rule, the queen of the seas tracks the weakest member of the flock for a long time, waits until he lags a little behind the rest and then attacks. Quite often she succeeds in hunting, and the well-fed fish, satisfied, swims away.
A completely different scenario if the dolphins notice the offender. This is when the power of the collective mind comes into play. The school surrounds the shark and hits its body with its powerful beaks. Moreover, the dolphin acts with acceleration and deliberately targets the most vulnerable place - which is similar to a blow to the solar plexus in a person.
Watch video - Dolphins attack a shark:
Together, dolphins can easily kill a bloodthirsty predator. In addition, white-bellied mammals, with the same mass as sharks, are more maneuverable and more powerful in lateral collisions. Coordinated group actions help dolphins win in skirmishes with sharks.
Why are sharks afraid of killer whales?
The species of killer whales is worth mentioning separately. These monstrous predators can even use great white sharks as an addition to their menu. However, it should be noted that usually killer whales do not attack first, but attack sharks only when they try to capture their calves or weakened members of the pod.
Thus, near the Farallon Islands, it was even possible to obtain footage of a brutal fight between a great white killer and a killer whale (read the article), which ended in the latter’s unconditional victory.
In addition to the fact that killer whales attack in groups, they have also become adept at putting sharks into a state of tonic immobility, essentially a long-term convulsive muscle contraction. Killer whales hit the shark's sides with their snouts, turning it upside down with its belly.
Watch video - Orcas vs shark:
In this position, the bloodthirsty predator seems to be paralyzed for some time, the sharks become completely helpless. The same method, by the way, is also demonstrated by divers when, sharply twisting the shark by the tail and bringing it into a state of paralysis, they fearlessly thrust their hands into the gaping mouths. With only one difference - killer whales usually finish off their offenders.
Are sharks afraid of dolphins?
Thus, sharks become victims of dolphins only through their own carelessness and on the condition that the school is full of adults. Usually, smart patrollers of the blue ocean simply avoid dolphin society. They are not afraid, no.
Sharks clearly calculate their own strength, but are also familiar with group attacks of cetaceans. That is why they prefer to hunt down the prey for a long time, slowly driving it away from the family, so as not to face the justified aggression of the pack.
Be careful to win again and again and proudly bear the name of the rulers of the World Ocean.
Watch video - Why sharks are afraid of dolphins:
The dolphin and the shark are two marine creatures that, for various reasons, have had a noticeable impact on human activities. At the same time, the dolphin is considered almost a relative of man, a very friendly animal, and the shark is such a bloodthirsty monster, it must be said that some types of sharks are really dangerous.
Dolphin
Dolphin is a member of the family of the suborder of toothed whales (Odontoceti) of the order of cetaceans of the class of mammals.
Dolphins are characterized by the presence in both jaws of a fairly significant number of uniform conical teeth; both nasal openings are usually connected into one transverse crescent-shaped opening at the top of the skull. The head is relatively small, often with a pointed muzzle, the body is elongated, and there is a dorsal fin. Very agile and dexterous, dolphins are voracious predators, living mostly socially, found in all seas, even rising high into rivers, feeding mainly on fish, mollusks, and crustaceans; sometimes they attack their relatives. They are also distinguished by their curiosity and traditionally good attitude towards people.
Some dolphins have a mouth extended forward in the form of a beak; in others the head is rounded in front, without a beak-like mouth.
Dolphins swim extremely fast, schools of dolphins often follow ships, using, in addition to the “Grey's paradox” described below, the wake of ships for even greater acceleration. The dolphin has been loved and popular since ancient times: there are many poetic legends and beliefs (the legend of Arion) about dolphins and their sculptural images.
Dolphins' brain size in relation to their body size is much larger than that of chimpanzees, and their behavior indicates a high degree of mental development. The brain of an adult dolphin weighs about 1,700 grams, while that of a human weighs 1,400. A dolphin has twice as many convolutions in the cerebral cortex as a human.
According to the latest scientific data from cognitive ethology and zoopsychology, dolphins not only have a “vocabulary” of up to 14,000 sound signals, which allows them to communicate with each other, but also have self-awareness, “social cognition” and emotional empathy, a willingness to help newborns and sick, pushing them to the surface of the water.
Despite their peacefulness towards humans, dolphins are quite bloodthirsty predators, for example, the “relative” of dolphins, the killer whale, is nicknamed “killer whale”, however, dolphins do not attack people, but people attack dolphins (as well as other animals) .
Shark
Shark - belongs to the superorder of cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), belonging to the subclass of elasmobranchs (Elasmobranchii) and has the following distinctive features: an elongated body more or less torpedo-shaped, a large heterocercal caudal fin, usually a large number of sharp teeth on each jaw.
To date, more than 450 species of sharks are known: from the deep-sea small Etmopterus perryi, only 17 centimeters long, to the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) - the largest fish (its length reaches 20 meters). Representatives of the superorder are widely distributed in the seas and oceans, from the surface to depths of more than 2000 meters. They mainly live in sea water, but some species can also live in fresh water.
The greatest documented depth of habitat belongs to the Portuguese shark - 3700 m
Most sharks are so-called true predators, but 3 species - whale, giant and largemouth sharks - are filter feeders; they feed on plankton, squid and small fish.
The skeleton of a shark is noticeably different from the skeleton of bony fish - it has no bones, and is formed entirely from cartilaginous tissue.
Shark scales are diamond-shaped plates that end in a spike protruding from the skin. In structure and strength, the scales are close to teeth, which gives reason to call them dermal denticles. These teeth have a wide base, a flattened shape and a very relief-defined crown. In most cases, the crowns are very sharp and fit tightly together, so the skin may appear relatively smooth if you run your hand from head to tail, and vice versa - rough, like sandpaper, if you move in the opposite direction. The combination of the shape, location and composition of the skin denticles plays a significant role in the streamlining of the shark’s body. For example, the pronounced raised protrusions on these denticles in a white shark create a hydrodynamic effect comparable to the aerodynamic effect that is observed when moving a golf ball.
The teeth of most sharks are shaped like sharp cones and sit on the cartilage of the upper and lower jaws. Teeth are regularly replaced as they fall out according to the principle of a conveyor belt - their replacement is constantly growing from the inside. In their structure and origin, these are modified placoid scales. Depending on their diet and lifestyle, teeth and jaws vary greatly between shark species. Bottom sharks, whose food is usually protected by a hard shell, have crushing teeth - flat with a ribbed surface (heterothed shark). Many predatory species have long, sharp teeth designed to easily penetrate the flesh of prey (for example, sandbar sharks). Sharks such as tiger sharks have wide and serrated teeth - designed for cutting and tearing the flesh of large prey. Plankton-eating sharks have small teeth (about 3-5 mm in a whale shark).
Sharks do not have a swim bladder. Instead, a huge liver, cartilaginous skeleton and fins help them compensate for negative buoyancy. A decrease in the specific weight of the body is achieved due to the accumulation of squalene bicarbonate in the liver with a specific gravity of 0.86 g/cm³, as well as the density of cartilage is approximately half that of bone. Many sharks are also characterized by neutral buoyancy due to the hydration of the skeleton. The rest is compensated by the lifting force generated during movement.
The sense of smell in sharks is one of the main sensory systems. Experiments have shown the high sensitivity of sharks to odors. The olfactory organs are represented by the nostrils - small bags on the muzzle that allow water to pass through to the olfactory receptors. The sense of smell is involved in searching for prey and breeding partners. In a white shark, 14% of the brain is used to process olfactory information. Hammerhead sharks have a particularly well-developed sense of smell - the peculiarly shaped nostrils, spaced at a considerable distance from each other on the head, make it possible to more clearly determine the position of the source of the smell. Research has shown that sharks respond better to the odors of wounded or alarmed prey.
The fetus of a shark develops in the uterus and is born well adapted to independent life - newborn sharks have a well-developed musculoskeletal system, digestive system and sensory organs, which allows them to feed independently and quickly gain weight. Sharks give birth to different numbers of babies - some species have up to 100, others only two or three. A white shark gives birth to approximately 3-14 pups at a time.
Contrary to the popular belief that the shark is just a “hunting machine” driven by instinct alone, recent research has shown the ability of some species to solve problems, social behavior and curiosity. The ratio of brain to body mass in sharks is roughly equivalent to that of birds and mammals.
In 1987, off the coast of South Africa, a group of seven white sharks worked together to drag a half-stranded whale to deeper water for a meal.
Sharks can also exhibit playful behavior. For example, the Atlantic herring shark has been repeatedly observed chasing another individual with a piece of algae in its teeth.
Contrary to popular belief, only a few species of sharks are dangerous to humans. Of all the species, only four have been recorded in a significant number of unprovoked fatal attacks on humans: white, tiger, tiptoe, and tiptoe sharks.
There have been cases of unprovoked attacks of other types, but they rarely resulted in the death of a person. These are mako shark, hammerhead, Galapagos, dark gray, lemon, silky, blue sharks. These sharks are large and powerful predators that can be attacked simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, they are considered less dangerous for swimmers and divers. The remaining several species also attack humans every year, causing potentially life-threatening wounds. But such cases occur either due to deliberate provocation, or due to mistaken identity by the shark due to water conditions, etc.
Sharks pose the greatest danger to swimmers near the surface of the water, and there are still no effective ways to repel sharks. The shark senses the fear of the victim, and also becomes more dangerous when provoking it into defensive actions. But the attack usually does not begin immediately - first the shark studies the person, swimming around, and then it can disappear and suddenly appear.
Modern literature, cinema and the media have created and successfully used the image of the shark as a bloodthirsty, ruthless beast, forgetting to convey the information that the shark is primarily a marine predator, playing a huge role in the entire marine ecosystem. Therefore, many organizations involved in the protection and conservation of sharks set themselves the main goal of conveying to society more complete information about sharks and their place in nature. 
Common things between a dolphin and a shark:
- They live in water, usually in the sea.
- Both are predators.
- Both are at the top of the food chain.
- Both the shark and the dolphin have had a significant impact on human culture.
- The main difference is that a dolphin is a mammal, and a shark is a fish.
- Dolphins have a more developed central nervous system and more complex behavior than sharks.
- Sharks can be either solitary or schooling, while dolphins, as a rule, live in groups.
- Dolphins are capable of reaching higher speeds than sharks.
- The ancestors of dolphins lived on land, then returned to the water.
- Dolphins can be trained, sharks cannot.
- Some species of sharks are deadly to humans.
- Sharks avoid dolphins because they pose a danger to them.
Sharks are big, but they are afraid of dolphins
In this article we will try to analyze in detail the question “Why are sharks afraid of dolphins?” For the uninitiated person, the question will seem extremely inappropriate, but the answer is simple... Sharks cannot be afraid of these cute inhabitants of the seas - dolphins. But is this true?
The shark is a predator in the world of the inhabitants of the ancient seas; it is one of the perfect killing weapons. The anatomical feature of the shark was created by nature itself in order to hunt and kill its prey.
For example, the structure of the white shark's jaw is stunning in its ideality and sinister intent for murder. In the mouth of an ordinary shark there are about three hundred teeth, each of which can reach up to 5 centimeters diagonally. The teeth in a shark's mouth are arranged in several rows - the first row is the main one, that is, the working one, and the subsequent ones are backup spare teeth. Are sharks afraid of dolphins with such a set of killer characteristics? Let's come back to this a little later.
Shark. Sense organs
The sensitivity of sharks is amazing in its richness and some unreality of nature's creations. In humans, we know five systems of perception of the surrounding world; in some species from the shark family there are about thirteen of them. The abilities of this species of inhabitants of the deep sea are sometimes equated to extrasensory abilities, which occurs in humans in isolated cases.
Shark is a bloodthirsty killer Although scientists, in the process of studying, found similar data in the same abilities in some other inhabitants of the seas, as well as in some representatives of the amphibian fauna, and even, in rare cases, in some representatives of the terrestrial fauna of mammals.
It would seem that with all such advantages, clearly not deprived by nature, sharks are afraid of the cutest creatures - dolphins. How can sharks be afraid of dolphins?? But from various sources we receive information that dolphins have repeatedly saved people from the jaws of the most ancient predators of the deep sea!
Main signs of fear
Why are sharks afraid of dolphins and is it really possible that when they see a pod of killer whales from afar, predators try not to collide with these representatives of the seas?? Do flocks of bottlenose dolphins and white-sided dolphins successfully resist these murderous predators and force them to avoid their habitats?
The collective existence of dolphins has been known since ancient times. They not only live in large flocks, their collective is completely organized and is a close-knit society for living in the depths of the sea. In communities like dolphins, the planned organization and activity of the entire group leads to the fact that individual predators are initially doomed to failure and complete defeat.
Dolphins move in schools - they are afraid of sharks Here is the answer to the question “Why are sharks afraid of dolphins?” A shark is a creature that lives on its own. The best company for a shark is itself. Representatives of this species of marine fauna very rarely gather in schools, and even less often remain in them for a long time.
This most often happens during mating periods, and such flocks are very unreliable - after all, each representative tries to swim away as quickly as possible on his own business. Despite the fact that sharks are extremely careful, their vicious love for a solitary existence is the main reason for the unequal battle and subsequent loss in battles with schools of dolphins!
Sharks and dolphins - fear
Dolphins are predators that feed on fish and crustaceans. The dolphin spends most of its time on the surface of the water and under water for up to three minutes. Although the food that dolphins feed on is located at a depth of tens of meters. Sinking so low, the dolphin must endure without fresh oxygen and sometimes spends up to fifteen minutes at a depth.
The ocean is their habitat, and hunting is the meaning of life. Usually, hunting occurs according to the same principle as an attack on predators - dolphins surround a school of fish with a ring and, gradually squeezing the ring, push the school toward the shore. One of the dolphins rushes into a school of fish, while the others remain in their places, and returns to its position, giving way to the next one.
Dolphins or sharks? This continues until every dolphin in the pod is full. The organization of the entire pod greatly helps dolphins feel comfortable not only in their habitat, but also in the fight against predators. Having a clear advantage in war, dolphins never attack a shark first, choosing defense.
The shark is always the initiator of the first attack; it is the shark that always attacks first. It is the shark who, with great desire, is happy to feast on the meat of a harmless dolphin, which quite accidentally strayed from the pod. And this sometimes happens for various reasons.
If the dolphins notice even the slightest aggressive action on the part of the predator, they immediately take action and then the aggressive and bloodthirsty shark has a very hard time. A school of dolphins takes counterattack actions in the blink of an eye, surrounding the predator in a dense ring on all sides.
Dolphins are funny and smart An attack by a group of dolphins is accompanied by powerful blows of their beaks from all sides on the shark’s body. Dolphins are highly developed and very smart creatures by nature, so they always try to get into the most vulnerable place of a shark’s body - the gill slits.
If dolphins attack an aggressive predator as a whole school, they can easily kill the shark without much damage to themselves. The maneuvering of dolphins cannot be compared with the maneuvers of a shark, and their power is much stronger. Dolphins also act according to this principle when they try to save a person from an attack by a predator.
What explains dolphins' fear of sharks?
But, as a rule, dolphins resort to killing their enemy in exceptional cases - it is enough for them to simply surround a human body with their flock, so that the predator hastens to retreat from the scene of the crime. The person remains alive and completely safe, and the dolphins do not cause the slightest harm to their representatives.
In many videos you can watch the miraculous rescue of people by dolphins, and see how sharks are afraid of dolphins.
Sharks' fear of dolphins One of these videos tells how a cameraman, while filming an episode, accidentally saw a shark dangerously close to him, which continued to move towards him. The man did not stop filming and captured the moment when four dolphins surrounded his body in a tight ring, keeping the predator away. Thus, by driving the shark away from the man, they saved his life.
The video operator has no doubt that by undertaking such military action against the shark, the dolphins fully understood that they were saving them from certain death. A very long time ago, good relations developed between representatives of the human race and dolphins. The initiative for this friendship belonged to the sea inhabitants, and there was not the slightest reason to doubt their friendliness and good attitude towards us.
There is not a single case in which these sea creatures are said to have attacked a person. Dolphins are not known for their rancor; on the contrary, their main feature is curiosity and good nature.
Huge pods of dolphins save people Well, I think the answer to the question “Why are sharks afraid of dolphins?” we have fully disclosed. The study of dolphins, like sharks, remains a hot topic among scientists all over the world, and I think in the future the scientific world will learn quite a few surprises and secrets, both about representatives of marine fauna and about their relationships.
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