This July, National Geographic’s Sharkfest is going wild

Posted on 29 June 2022 By Ilhaam Hoosain

This July, become a shark fanatic or fuel your passion during the 2022 Sharkfest series. Learn more about these misunderstood fish with National Geographic Wild’s shows opening up a whole new world of science and superb camera work to a better understanding of the way sharks live.

Pictures: Supplied

A large female tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) cruises slowly over the reef at Tiger Beach, Bahamas. (National Geographic/Mark Van Coller)

This year’s focus is on five different shark species and showcases footage from all over the globe. This includes sharks from South Africa, the Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica, Australia, Hawaii, The Maldives, California, Massachusetts, Maine, Florida and more.

‘Camo Sharks is an investigation on what shark skin does and how their melanin behaves. It’s two scientists crafting lofty ideas, making failures, and trying again. Many of the experiments you will see are done for the first time by us, so we had no idea how this was going to turn out, but that’s what makes it so riveting!’ says Kenyan shark scientist, Gibbs Kuguru.

Interesting shark facts

-Sharks play a vital role in keeping other populations in check and this keeps our oceans healthy because they support biodiversity. They prevent the spread of disease and improve the gene pool by consuming the old and the sick.

-There have only been 269 confirmed sightings of the megamouth shark across the world since the species was first discovered in 1976 says the Florida Museum.

-The megalodon (Otodus megalodon) was a megatooth shark that dominated the oceans from about 22 million years ago until about three million years ago, according to the BBC.

-A megalodon shark’s one fossil tooth measures a massive 17cm in length. This indicates that this gigantic predator was the length of two buses and today’s white shark is from the megalodon lineage, says The Shark Trust.

Catch Sharkfest Saturdays and Sundays at 6pm and for the first time tune into Disney+ for shark series and specials.

Featured picture: National Geographic/Manu San Felix

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