Shaaark!

"Watson and the Shark," by John Singleton Copley, 1778

As frightening as the thought of a shark attack can be, the fact is that sharks (much like lions ...) have a lot more to fear from us that we do from them, as the following stats show. from wisegeek.com:

Approximately 100 million sharks are killed by people each year, according to 2012 findings from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, or nearly 11,500 every hour. It is estimated that between 6.4% and 7.9% of all shark species are killed annually by humans, which is thought to be a faster rate than the birth of new sharks and may leave the creatures vulnerable to a declining population over the long term.
   Sharks are generally killed by humans due to illegal hunting to keep up with the demand for shark fins, a culinary delicacy in Asia. Poachers typically remove the fins from the sharks while they are still alive, and leave them in the water to die.

More about sharks :

• One single bowl of shark fin soup may cost as much as $100 US Dollars (USD) in Asia.
• While sharks are often viewed as a major threat to humans, approximately 12 humans were killed by sharks in 2011 worldwide.


• Some shark species lack the ability to pump water through their mouths and can actually die from drowning if they stop moving.