New Research

Sharks Have Scary-Good Memories

New research on one species reveals an astounding ability to learn complex tricks and remember them for at least a year

New Research

Here’s Why Sharks Prefer Salt Water

New research shows that sharks sink in fresh water

A system in testing off the coast of Cape Town uses an electric field to safely ward off predators.

An Electric Fence Wards Off Sharks

South Africa has begun testing a humane way to make its beaches safer

A photo of a whale shark, taken by a visitor during a Ceviche Tour swim in Isla Mujeres.

Shark Week

Save the Sharks By Swimming With Them

Ecotourism is helping promote shark conservation around the world—while also boosting local economies.

A blue shark near the Azores islands.

Shark Week

Bizarre Blue Shark Nursery Found in the North Atlantic

Rather than emerging in protected coves, baby blue sharks spend their first years in a big patch of open ocean

Two-headed smooth-hound (Mustelus)

Shark Week

A Two-Headed Shark and Other X-Rayed Beauties at the Smithsonian

Sandra Raredon’s x-rays of fish specimens are critical records for scientists studying various species. And, as works of art, they are breathtaking

A 16th-century illustration of imaginary sea monsters from Cosmographia by Sebastian Mustern, based on creatures from Carta Marina by Olaus Magnus.

Shark Week

Sharks Were Once Called Sea Dogs, And Other Little-Known Facts

Centuries-old illustrations of sharks show just how much we’ve learned about the fish since our first sightings of them

A great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) in South Africa shows its jaws.

Shark Week

The State of Sharks, 40 Years After Jaws

We could be at a tipping point for conserving the infamous predators, if we can keep up shark-friendly practices

Dogfish shark denticles viewed using a scanning electron microscope.

Shark Week

Why Are Scientists Trying To Make Fake Shark Skin?

Faux marine animal skin could make swimmers faster, keep bathrooms clean and cloak underwater robots

Madison Stewart, Shark Girl

The Girl Who Swims With Sharks

A new Smithsonian Channel documentary features “Shark Girl,” a fearless 20-year-old Aussie who has spent hundreds of hours swimming with the creatures

Cool Finds

Crowdfunding Science Just Got More Fun: You Can Name And Track Your Own Wild Shark

If you help science, science will help you adopt a shark

A scene from the whale shark processing factory, where the endangered species are turned into meat, medicinal supplements and cosmetics.

Cool Finds

A Factory in China Is Slaughtering Endangered Whale Sharks

A Chinese non-profit wildlife organization exposed what they believe to be the largest whale shark-processing factory in the world

Great White Sharks Swim Up, Down, Far, Wide—All Over the Place, Really—And We Had No Idea

Satellite tags map great white shark movements

Sharks Can Sense When Your Back Is Turned

New research suggests that sharks can sense where you can’t see, and will approach just outside your field of vision

Guadalupe White Shark

Great White Sharks Are Being Killed Before They Can Become Truly Gigantic

Sharks aren’t shrinking, they’re just being hunted and inadvertently killed by fishing nets so often that they’re no longer living long enough to grow up

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Best Shark Photographs from the Last Ten Years of Photo Contests

Getting the perfect shot requires great timing, the right equipment and nerves of steel

In 1916, a great white shark attacked five people near the Jersey Shore.

The Shark Attacks That Were the Inspiration for Jaws

One rogue shark. Five victims. A mysterious threat. And the era of the killer great white was born

Weighing up to several tons, whale sharks are also notable for their markings. Each pattern of spots is unique and scientists identify individual fish using computer programs first developed to study star constellations.

Swimming With Whale Sharks

Wildlife researchers and tourists are heading to a tiny Mexican village to learn about the mystery of the largest fish in the sea

There are 50 to 70 reported shark attacks on humans each year, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Stopping Sharks by Blasting Their Senses

Chemist and businessman Eric Stroud develops shark repellents to protect sharks from being ensnared in commercial fisheries

It may be hard to fathom, but many great white encounters with humans are investigative, not predatory. (A great white attacks a seal decoy in False Bay.) They’re just curious, Compagno says.

Forget Jaws, Now it’s … Brains!

Great white sharks are typecast, say experts. The creatures are socially sophisticated and, yes, smart

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