Take a Bite out of Shark Awareness Day

Here at San Mateo County Libraries, we know that sharks have a bad reputation. While you can check out Jaws and other movies that portray sharks as bad, this week we are advocating for a different journey. We want you to discover how truly awesome sharks are! Below are some tips to help you celebrate National Shark Awareness Day, opens a new window, this Sunday, July 14.

For some good ol’ shark mythbusting and other fun shark facts, kids can check out The Ultimate Book of Sharks and adults and teens can check out our new EBSCOhost Database to search for shark myths, opens a new window such as the ones below.

• Myth: Shark attacks occur all the time.
  Actually, shark attacks are quite rare.
• Myth: Sharks will eat anything!
  Actually, sharks prefer marine life to humans, cars, and other objects.
• Myth: Nothing can eat a Great White Shark.
  Actually, Orcas (Killer Whales) can and do eat Great Whites!
• Myth: All sharks are predators.
  Actually, some sharks are filter feeders.
• Myth: Sharks are dumb animals.
  Actually, sharks are one of the smartest in their species and exhibit complex social behaviors similar to whales.

Ready to explore more about sharks? Check out these fun facts from another article, opens a new window from our EBSCOhost databases.

• Fun fact: Sharks are always awake.
  Instead of sleeping eight hours a night, they have periods of deep relaxation, kind of like a mediation.
• Fun fact: Whale sharks have over 300 rows of teeth with hundreds of teeth in each row!
  They have over 30,000 teeth, making them the shark with the greatest number of teeth!

Hungry for more shark facts? Kids can search for shark books and get their fill. Adults and teens can too! Take a deep dive into our new EBSCOhost General Research Database and swim around in a world of shark facts, pictures, videos and more. For an eye-opening documentary on how sharks are stewards of the coral reefs, check out this film, opens a new window on our free streaming service, Kanopy!

You can also celebrate Shark Awareness Day with some shark-related events at the libraries.

How will you celebrate Shark Awareness Day? Share below!