South Bay Pets: Sharks Archives

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More about sharks

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While sharks don't usually attack people, that doesn't mean they aren't lurking out there.
 
Off the waters of the South Bay, one may encounter mako and blue sharks.
 
In 1992, three great white sharks were caught in one week by anglers off Manhattan Beach. Others have appeared randomly over the years.
 
If you want a close-up look, a local company called Team Shark will take you out in a boat while they go out and chum the waters. Doesn't sound like much fun to me, but the idea of being in a boat for a couple of hours worries me more than bumping into a shark.
 
And if you want to see a shark without actually going into the ocean, you can find one hanging from the rafters of Shark Attack, a trinket store on the Redondo Beach Pier. For a small fee, visitors can gawk at Georgette, a 16-1/2 foot long great white.
 
Here are a few other things you might not know about sharks:
 
  • Shark skin is made of tiny tooth-like scales called denticles and has been used for sandpaper.
  • Sharks live mainly on a diet of fish, squid, octopus and plankton.
  • Sharks have no swim bladder and must move constantly to breathe and stay afloat.
  • The whale shark is not only the largest shark , it's the largest fish. It can grow to a length of 50 feet. The smallest is the aptly named pygmy shark . It grows to 2 feet.
  • Sharks can detect one drop of blood in 1 million drops of water.
  • Sharks have rows of teeth that are constantly being replaced as old ones fall out.
 

 
 

 
 
 

Shark attack

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I just read that the man who died in the San Diego shark attack was a retired veterinarian.

 I wrote a story about shark attacks a few years ago after a bunch of incidents a couple of years ago. And while it's sad that someone died today, swimming in the waters off the ocean is still pretty darn safe, especially here in South Bay waters.

 When I wrote the story in 2001, there were only 10 reported deaths due to shark attacks in California since 1926, according to the International SharkAttack Files.

And not a single one of the occurred in Los Angeles County.

Of the tens of millions of people who have taken a dip in local waters in the past 75 years, only 110 have been attacked by sharks. The last was in Santa Barbara in 1994. You're more likely to be stung to death by honeybees.

In other words, it's safe to go back into the water.

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About the Bloggers

Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.

E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.

Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.

E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.

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