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Grey reef shark Facts

Grey reef shark Facts
Grey reef shark is a common species of sharks that can be found in Indian and Pacific oceans and in Caribbean Sea. It usually lives near the coral reefs. Grey reef sharks can be occasionally seen in lagoons and in the open sea. Even though they are able to dive up to 3300 feet, grey reef sharks spend most of their time at the depth of 200 feet. These animals are threatened by commercial fishing and by-catch (they end up trapped in the fishing nets by accident). Exact number of remaining grey reef sharks is unknown, but scientists believe that they are nearly threatened (they are still not endangered, but they may become endangered in the near future).
Interesting Grey reef shark Facts:
Grey reef shark can reach 5 to 6.6 feet in length and 44 to 66 pounds of weight.
Grey reef sharks are usually grey in color. Those that live in shallow water have darker skin due to tanning.
Grey reef shark has elongated body, rounded snout and large eyes.
Grey reef sharks have triangular, serrated and very sharp teeth. They usually have 14 teeth in the upper jaw and 13 in the lower jaw.
Grey reef shark swims slowly most of the time, but it can achieve the speed of 25 miles per hour when chasing the prey.
Grey reef sharks are active throughout the whole day. They reach the peak of activity at night.
Grey reef sharks are active predators and true carnivores (meat-eaters). They hunt and eat different types of fish, crabs and squids.
Grey reef sharks have excellent sense of smell. They can smell tuna fish in 10 billionth part of the water.
Main predators of grey reef sharks are humans and large sharks.
Grey reef sharks occasionally attack people. Most attacks happened during the feeding time, when sharks become overexcited.
Grey reef shark shows specific behavior when it is threatened. It swims side to side with arched back, raised head and dropped pectoral fins. This unusual tactic serves to intimidate the opponent and it is often displayed in front of the divers.
Grey reef sharks gather in groups of 10 to 20 animals during the day, but they generally prefer solitary life. They hunt on their own during the night.
Males attain sexual maturity when they reach the length of 4.3 to 4.9 feet. Females become sexually mature at the length of 3.9 to 4.6 feet. This happens usually at the age of 5 to 7 years.
Males are very aggressive during the mating. They bite females and hold them tight with their sharp teeth during insemination. Pregnancy lasts from 9 to 14 months (usually 12) and ends with 1 to 4 pups. Females are viviparous (they give birth to live babies).
Grey reef shark can survive up to 25 years in the wild.


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