Cole Library was swimming with people Monday, June 5, with the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium’s Ocean Odyssey program. The event is part of the summer reading program.
Megan and Bailey from the museum were presenting information on sharks as part of the program.
Megan asked what attendees think about when they hear the word sharks.
Answers included water, misunderstood, Jaws, sharp, teeth, fins, gills, big, great white and strong.
Those answers are similar to normal, Megan said, including strong, teeth and sharp.
“We usually think of big sharks, but sharks come in all sizes,” Megan said. “They’re also a very misunderstood species.”
Megan said one of the biggest misnomers is that shark bites are more common than they are.
“Sharks are like a toddler,” Megan said. “When they encounter anything, they tend to put it in their mouth. It is the one way they explore the world, with their mouth.”
Megan said that most sharks are not going to bite humans, you really must be trying to get them to do so. You may be swimming in the ocean and covered with fish blood and guts, which would definitely draw them to you. Sharks, however, are not attracted to human blood as depicted in many movies.
“You’re more likely to be killed by a cow than you are to be bit by a shark,” Megan said. “You’re also far more likely to be struck by lightning than you are to be bit by a shark.”
The discussion also talked about the adaptations for the animal. They used a volunteer from the audience, Griffon, to highlight different elements of the shark it needs to survive.
Scales are one of the adaptations. Sharks’ scales are dermal denticle, or v shaped, which gives them protection and allows them to swim faster in water. They are more like teeth than scales.
Gills and the ability to breath underwater are also important. One of the other misnomers is that sharks have to move to be able to breath. For larger sharks, that is true, but smaller sharks have different ways to propel water into their gills.
Fins are important for sharks. There are dorsal fins, the one many of us know that sometimes peaks above the surface. Then, there are pecternal fins, which help them balance when swimming.
Sharks also have very acute vision, able to see great distances when in the water.
Teeth are also very important to sharks, and the museum outlined the different types of shark teeth found on different species and the adaptations needed to help them feed on different animals. Sharks that feed on food like jelly fish have to have more tooth pick like teeth to hold onto a food that is like Jell-O. Sharks, like tiger sharks, who feed on things like turtles, need teeth that function more like can openers.
The sharks that were on display and able to be touched by attendees included coral cat sharks and epaulette sharks, or walking sharks.
After the presentation, all attendees were encouraged to touch a shark.
During the question period, Megan addressed questions about how much sharks eat.
“Sharks will eat whatever they can,” Megan said. “If they can eat three fish, they’ll eat three fish. If they have a chance to eat 11 fish, they’ll eat 11. They don’t know how often their next meal will come.”
Shark’s predators are usually other sharks, unless you are a great white, and then it is killer whales and humans. On average, humans kill a 100 million sharks a year, most caught in fishing nets unintentionally.

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--Courtesy photos Grace Rowray, Cole Library

The more than 150 in attendance for the program with the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium Ocean Odyssey program Monday, June 5. Attendees had the opportunity to pet sharks at the conclusion of the program.