Evan V's Current Event

Studying Sharks’ Social Lives to Expose Their Friendly Side

By: Laura Parker

The New York Times

Jan. 11 2016

Ever wondered if sharks have friends? Well, so did Dr. Brown apparently, because in September 2015 he assembled a team conducted a study on Port Jackson sharks and their social lives. The study was conducted at and around Sydney Australia, and some of it was at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney but mainly in the ocean.The people involved with the study were, Port Jackson sharks, Taronga Zoo, and Macquarie University. It will affect most people because the goal is to prove that sharks aren’t mindless and they can be friendly. This project is being done because there is a tag attached to the fin of a shark sends out a message whenever the shark comes within a third of a mile or within 30 feet of another tagged shark. Sharks of mixed ages and genders were found coming to the same place over and over again which led some people to believe that sharks like to eat together.

One of the main reasons I chose this article, was because when my brother was in 7th grade, for his birthday he went swimming with sharks and I’ve just found sharks fascinating since then. Also, it really grabbed me that someone was trying to prove that sharks do indeed have social lives. I found the article on The New York Times and I knew that it was a trustworthy site and article because The New York Times is one of the biggest newspapers in the country and the writers/publishers wouldn’t let something that wasn’t real go onto the newspaper. I think that it is very good Dr. Brown is trying to show sharks friendly side because they are creatures that everyone thinks are terrible but might not be and they should be given a chance. There was one quote in the article that really caught my eye and it was, “More people die from falling off cliffs while taking selfies than from shark attacks,”. I think this quote shows that although sharks are extremely feared by some, they aren’t nearly as bad as they are made out to be.

Works Cited

“Studying Sharks’ Social Lives to Expose Their Friendly Side.” The New York Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.