Sharks: April 2008 Archives

• 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.
  

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.