Introduction
Do sharks make sound? Can sharks make noise? What sharks can make sounds? If so HOW do sharks vocalise? Join shark scientist Kristian Parton as he uncovers the mystery as to whether sharks really make noise.
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Shark Bytes is a youtube channel dedicated to bringing you all the latest news, research and information about sharks around the world! Kristian Parton is a current marine biologist and shark researcher who has spent many years working with sharks in the field and laboratory. Having a passion for sharks and rays from a young age, Kristian now wants to bring the weird and wonderful world of sharks to your screens at home!
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Video
The ocean is a pretty noisy place from the crackle of the reef to grunting fish and all the way up to whale song.
It would be pretty tough for you to not be able to hear the underwater noises of the sea.
These animals all use sound to help adapt them to their way of life, whether that be to communicate with each other, navigate their way home or to protect themselves.
Lots of underwater marine animals produce sound and listen to The Sounds around them to survive, but have you ever wondered? What sound a shark makes? What sound do you think of immediately when you think of a shark? Is it this one yep, that's the sound of nothing but the ocean.
How about this one or what about this one? Would you believe me if I told you that might be a shark? Well, today we're going to have a look at where the sharks can make sound and what they might use that sound for welcome back to another shark bites episode.
Everyone we've been studying sharks since the 1800s trying to learn about them as much as we can to be fair back.
Then most studies were limited to descriptions of the animal or anatomical stuff.
It wasn't until the 20th century that we started really kicking on with our research and in the last 120 years, we've learned a lot.
Admittedly, there's still so much.
We don't know about sharks, but shark scientists seem to be pretty confident on one thing and that was sharks.
Don't make sound I mean for an animal to be regularly called The Silent Predator.
You would be pretty confident that that animal didn't make any noise, and that's because in nearly 300 years of looking at these animals inside and out, not a single shark species has been found that is anatomically capable of making sound.
Scientists had never found a specific organ within sharks that is capable of making sounds like how we might imagine anyway, on land animals use a variety of different mechanisms to make sound mammals, use their vocal cords to bark raw or in the case of humans.
Talk birds have a specialized organ known as the syrinx capable of passing air past membranes to chirp and whistle.
Even insects can rub their legs wings and thorax to produce noise.
Sharks, on the other hand, have nothing, no vocal cords, no specialized organ, and they can't exactly rub their pectoral fins together to make sound.
But what, if I, were to tell you? There are two, maybe three species of shark that are capable of making noise sort of, and on top of that, there's even two Ray species, the first two shark species kind of count as one as they're very closely related to each other and while they're capable of making sounds.
It isn't quite what you might expect these species are the swell shark and the drasbord shark, both belonging to the cephalocyllium genus of sharks, they're cat shark species that tend to inhabit the waters around Australia and New Zealand.
Now, with a name like swell shark you'd, probably be right in thinking that this species does something pretty cool when threatened Lee sharks bend their bodies into a u-shape, often grabbing their chordal fin in their mouths, and also swallow a large quantity of seawater.
When doing so, this causes them to swell to about twice their normal size, which makes it pretty difficult for whatever Predator is trying to evict them from their Rocky, crevice or hidey hole to try and eat them.
If they've survived the ordeal they've got to then expel the water that they've just swallowed either out through their gills or their mouth, and as that water's forcibly removed from the body.
It makes a rough horse sound that some people have described Vibe sounding similar to that of a barking dog.
Now I have searched high and wide to try and find you a video of a swell shop, making this noise online- and it has proved exceptionally difficult, but this is shot bites, have I ever let you down I've managed to find two separate Clips, where you can sort of see.
Slash hear this happening, admittedly, they're, not the best, but it's all I could find.
The first clip is from someone filming off a pier, unfortunately he's running back with some pliers at the exact time.
The swellshock does this so he's maybe a second or too late to probably catch it on film but I'll play it.
For you a couple of times anyway foreign.
So you can see just as he's running back with some pliers.
To try and get the hook out.
This swell shark has just expelled all that water that was inside its stomach onto the dock, but we don't quite hear the horse barking sound that's been described annoyingly.
If he hadn't had to go and.
Get those players he probably would have managed to get the sound on film if you go back and listen to it again you can kind of hear it.
It almost sounds like someone throwing up now the next clip is much more subtle.
But you can definitely hear something in this clip.
We've got young Millie who's.
Putting a swell shark back out in deeper water and as she picks it up, you can almost hear a horse.
Hissing noise.
Coming from that swell shot.
I'll play it for you, a couple of times again, it's all right! It's all! Right! It's all! Right! It's all! Right! It's all! Right! So as she picks the shark up and it's thrashing back and forth, you can hear that hissing sound two, maybe three times and that'll, be the shark expelling a small amount of water out of the mouth and gills.
It's not quite as obvious as the first clip, because there's less water being expelled from the shark and maybe the level of sound is influenced purely by how much water it's decided to swallow.
Okay, so right now, you're, probably saying Chris that doesn't count.
It's not really barking.
It's just the sound of water coming out of its mouth and gills and you'd be absolutely right that is what's causing the sound scientists have reported that these shark species are making this sound, both underneath and above water, but they're still not really sure on what its purpose is.
They don't even know if it's an intentional Behavior or whether they're just accidentally doing it.
If it is intentional, then it might be an attempt to startle Predators which, if it's happening underwater, is probably going to cause Bubbles as that water comes out of the mouth and gills, which might distract a predator for long enough.
For the shark to get away, speaking of startling predators that moves us on quite nicely to our two very noisy Rey species since rays are pretty closely related to sharks and you can sort of think of them as cousins and there's actually two species of stingrays that have fairly recently, for the first time been recorded, making sounds out in the wild.
The two stingrays in question are the cowtail stingray and the mangrove whip Ray, which are often found in the indo-pacific, mostly around Australia right.
Let's have a listen, so you can see in both of these species.
The sound is clearly coming from the sphericals on the top of the head.
There, you can see those sphericals Contracting, just as the sound is produced, it's unknown exactly how the mechanism works, but it could again be the fast expulsion of water out of those spiracles.
That's making the sound the scientists responsible for the study reported that the Stingrays made this sound when approached underwater and proceeded to swim away.
Interestingly, they also reported that after one Stingray began, making the sound other stingrays in the area flocked over to the clicking Stingray and also began clicking, which would suggest that these stingrays recognize the sound meaning it could have a role to play in communication between members of the same species.
So the clicking here in stingrays is clearly a response to a perceived threat.
I.E The Stingrays were concerned about the snorkeler, so it began furiously clicking.
This means that they might use that sound to try and startle any predators that are trying to eat them.
But then the fact that other stingrays are flocking towards the one individual that was making the noise is pretty crazy.
It would mean that not only are they grouping together in the presence of danger kind of like a safety and numbers thing, but also they're able to recognize the noise and what it might mean, which is basically suggesting that they have the ability to communicate information about what's happening their environment and have that information understood by other individuals of the same species.
I honestly can't wait to see more about this research as it develops now.
Earlier right, at the start of this, video I played you a pretty strange underwater noise that sounded like this uh So What on earth.
Is this um? Is it really coming from a sharp? Well, the clip comes from a chap called Jonathan Green, who is reviewing some footage that was captured by a camera that was placed on the back of a whale shark for BBC's Blue, Planet 2 Series late at night.
He was having a look at some of the footage that was recorded that day and after hours and hours of hearing absolutely nothing.
He heard a pretty strange sound.
He describes it as a low Gravelly whisper and after hearing it, he woke up the rest of his team so that they could have a listen.
Let's have a listen again shall we oh yeah green and his team didn't believe the sound to be coming from a boat engine, because, based on the timestamp from that video, their boat engine was off when the sound was heard there also weren't any other boats in the area.
At the time they were In Darwin's Arch, which is a pretty remote part of the Galapagos Islands.
So the file sat for three years untouched on Green's computer.
Until in 2019 he decided to post it onto the Galapagos whale shark project.
Facebook page it gained quite a lot of attention and importantly, attracted the attention of Welsh art researchers who had similar stories of their own, one of whom was back then undergraduate student Heather Barrett, who was volunteering on a whale shark research project in the Gulf of California.
She spent three Summers between 2010 and 2012, photo iding whale sharks in this area and had heard similar noises as what Jonathan green and his team had heard in 2016.
Heather even got one really interesting, recording of a group of 10 or so whale sharks.
Feeding amongst a bait ball of fish with a sound of drum like pulses, could be heard repeatedly.
I've not been able to get my hands on any of Heather's Clips.
Unfortunately, and sadly, she couldn't get any funding for This research project idea and decided she had to move on It's Not Unusual.
For that to happen to be fair and at the end of the day, research grants can't always go to Blue Sky research ideas.
They often go for the safer options, but it wasn't just Heather that was hearing these strange noises.
Dr Denny, Ramirez Massey, asked the director of the Mexico well shot.
Project has also claimed to have heard the noises over the last 19 years of working with whale sharks.
She even said there was one particular male whale shark who seemed to make the noise every time her and her team jumped in the water around him.
Rafael De La Parra, another researcher working with whale sharks in Mexico, says he's heard the noise for the last 17 years and he's described it almost as a low raw or a purr like what cats might do so.
You've got four independent people there all reporting hearing the same or a similar noise around whale sharks, but then, on the flip side, there's a number of very qualified whale shark researchers who claim to have never heard the noise Dr Alistair Dove has never heard the noise from the whale sharks at Georgia Aquarium.
Although I suppose you could say that those ones are juvenile individuals and also their in captivity.
Marina Padilla who's been in the water pretty much every single day with whale sharks for the last six years in La, Paz Mexico says she's never heard the noise, but interestingly Marina does say that one of her friends claims to have heard it.
I spent three and a half months in the water pretty much every single day with whale sharks in the Philippines and I didn't hear the noise.
Admittedly, that does pale in comparison to the years that some of these scientists have got as opposed to the months that I had it's probable, that something is going on here as to whether it's coming from the shark or something else is a mystery that still needs to be solved.
I think if we watch the video again it's clear, the sound happens twice just before a smaller shark species.
Maybe a Galapagos shot rubs up against the bottom of that whale shark.
So is it maybe reacting to that smaller shark Dr, Alastair Dove, who I mentioned earlier, doesn't dismiss the idea completely because he was also part of the team who were out there and heard that noise.
He said that there's a load of footage of these sharks just swimming around in the blue, not making any noise at all and the moment that the noise is heard just so happens to be at exactly the same time.
A small shark is getting right up in that whale sharks, Grill I think that's interesting, I think.
If we bring this back to the swell shark noise, it could be somewhat related to that whale sharks.
Often feed on Plankton at the surface and in doing so occasionally take in big gulps of air people have seen bubbles escaping from the gills of whale sharks on several occasions.
So this sound could literally be the sound of escaping air.
I mean some of these sharks are longer than the length of a bus.
So that's a big old body cavity for air to be moving around in so just like the swell shop, we could simply be hearing the sound of air whatever it is.
We might be somewhat closer to knowing the answer to this as Heather Barrett is supposedly planning to dust off the project and put a little bit more time into it, as I love to say here on shark bites.
For this one we're just gonna have to wait and see if it does turn out to be roaring.
I know that I'm gonna get so much stick from you guys for the whole hashtag raw hashtag, no raw thing in shark films.
For the time being, though, I'm going to open this one up to all of you watching at home, what on Earth do you think is making this noise? Are whale sharks, communicating with each other using this this noise, or are we just listening to them? Burp I want to hear all your thoughts in the comments below also, let me know if you've seen any other swell sharp barking.
Clips I couldn't manage to find any more, but maybe you can so post the link in the comments and as always, if you enjoyed this video, please do give it a like and don't forget, to subscribe to the Showbox Channel below by clicking that big red subscribe button also turn that notifications Bell on and that way you can stay up to date with all of our latest videos.
Until then see you next time.
Thank you, foreign.
FAQs
Uncovering The Mystery: Do Sharks Really Make Noise? ›
No, it is not possible for sharks to make a sound loud enough to be heard over long distances. This is because their vocal tracts are much smaller than those of other mammals and therefore can only produce low-frequency noises.
Do sharks make sounds underwater? ›But, although they are very much attuned to this great oceanic opera, sharks are — by and large —the quintessential silent hunters. Unlike their noisy neighbors, sharks have no organs for producing sound. Even their scales are modified to allow them to slip through the water in ghost-like silence.
Do loud noises attract sharks? ›Interestingly, noise can both deter and attract sharks depending on the sound frequency and pulsation. One central study found that low frequencies, similar to the range at which a struggling fish would be heard, are attractive, while loud and irregular noises elicit a withdrawal response.
Do whale sharks make noise? ›Whale sharks do not make sounds. Sharks overall do not possess the anatomical structures to produce any kind of vocalization.
Does screaming underwater scare sharks? ›Shouting into the ocean, blowing bubbles, slapping the water, and throwing paper scraps into the sea will not scare away a shark. If anything, these actions may be more interesting than scary to a shark.
Can you hear water underwater? ›In one study, participants were able to hear frequencies as high as 200,000 hertz underwater, which is ten times higher than the top frequency that people are able to hear on land (20,000 hertz if you do the math!).
What sounds do sharks hate? ›Sharks appear to dislike the noise of the bubbles scuba divers create as they breathe underwater. One researcher also found that playing the AD/DC song "You Shook Me All Night Long" did not repel sharks, but did seem to calm them and make them less aggressive, perhaps because they were curious about the sound.
What does a real shark sound like? ›Some shark species, such as the great white shark, have been known to growl or make drumming sounds by grinding their teeth, while others, like the draughtsboard shark, can bark like a dog. However, these sounds are not used for communication but rather as a threat display or to startle potential prey.
What scares sharks off? ›ESDs aim to overwhelm a shark's electro-sensory system. They emit electrical pulses (each one does so in a different way) that are supposed to repel the shark. So far, ESDs have been the most effective type of personal shark repellent.
What do sharks fear the most? ›Just like we check under our beds for monsters, sharks check for dolphins before nodding off. That's right, the toughest kids on the undersea block swim in fear of dolphins.
What attracts sharks the most? ›
Sound: Sound, rather than sight or smell, seems to be a shark's primary cue for moving into an area. Certain types of irregular sounds—like those made by a swimmer in trouble or a damaged fish—seem to attract sharks from great distances.
Do great white sharks make any sounds? ›Sharks can't make any noise, so they use body language to communicate. Opening their jaws, nodding their heads, and arching their bodies can be social signals as two sharks 'talk' to each other.
Do sharks fall asleep? ›Some sharks such as the nurse shark have spiracles that force water across their gills allowing for stationary rest. Sharks do not sleep like humans do, but instead have active and restful periods.
Is there a smell that sharks hate? ›It has traditionally been believed that sharks are repelled by the smell of a dead shark; however, modern research has had mixed results. The Pardachirus marmoratus fish (finless sole, Red Sea Moses sole) repels sharks through its secretions.
Does pee scare sharks away? ›No reaction. From a scientific standpoint, Esbaugh says that it's “definitely not true” that sharks are attracted to urine, and he assumes the rumor got started because many animals use scent to track their prey. But he says this doesn't hold up because humans aren't the most common meal for sharks.
What color do sharks hate? ›Since sharks see contrast colors, anything that is very bright against lighter or darker skin can look like a bait fish to a shark. For this reason, he suggests swimmers avoid wearing yellow, white, or even bathing suits with contrasting colors, like black and white.
Why can't we talk underwater? ›But the fact that sound travels faster in water than in air just brings up the next question: Why is it harder to talk to someone underwater than in air? The answer is that sound couples poorly from air to water. When you talk, you do so by emitting air and then sending compression waves through this air.
What is the loudest sound in the whole entire world? ›The Krakatoa volcanic eruption: Not only did it cause serious damage to the island, the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 created the loudest sound ever reported at 180 dB. It was so loud it was heard 3,000 miles (5,000 km) away.
Is it safe to talk underwater? ›Don't get frustrated if you cannot understand your dive buddy when they open their mouth to talk to you underwater. Remember that scuba divers are not designed to talk underwater. When we speak on land, air from our lungs travels to our vocal cords and back out of our mouths.
What to do if a shark is circling you? ›As the shark swims around you, keep your head on a swivel and try to maintain eye contact. “Sharks are ambush predators,” Peirce explained. “If you're turning around and facing it the whole time while it circles you, it's not going to be half as comfortable as if it's able to sneak up from behind.”
What to do if a shark bumps you? ›
- Defend yourself - playing dead doesn't work.
- Use whatever you have at your disposal (surfboard, dive gear, fishing equipment) to avoid using your bare hands to attack the shark.
- If you must use your hands, concentrate on attacking the eyes, nose and gills.
- Make sudden movements to scare the shark.
In general, sharks prefer to eat fish, squid and crustaceans.
How do you stay calm around sharks? ›- Accept That Though You're in Their Territory, You're Not on the Menu. ...
- Don't Look At Their Mouths. ...
- Steady Your Breathing and Talk to Yourself. ...
- Keep Your Hands to Yourself. ...
- Act Natural.
Whether in the wild, captivity, or a laboratory. Subduing them minimises their struggling and reduces the possibility of injury. When the shark is gently turned on their back, it's thought to disorientate them, causing them to enter the state. The shark's muscles relax and their breathing becomes deep and rhythmic.
What sound attracts sharks? ›Sharks are most attracted to low-frequency, erratic thumping sounds that mimic prey in distress.
How many miles away can a shark hear? ›Just because you can't see any ears on a shark doesn't mean it can't hear. In fact, a shark can hear sounds up to 0.6 miles away—about the length of ten football fields.
What shark makes a barking sound? ›At least two kinds of shark, the swellshark and the draughtsboard shark, bark both in the water and on land. So far, scientists don't know exactly how they do it, or whether it's intentional. Both sharks use the same mechanism to produce the barking sounds. When they are threatened, they suck in water.
What time do shark attacks happen? ›Most attacks world-wide happen between 8.00 am and 6.00 pm and mostly on weekend during the warmer seasons of the year. This has not so much to do with shark behaviour though but everything with human behaviour since these are the times when most people are spending time in the water.
What eats off sharks? ›Q: What animals are known to eat sharks? A: Killer whales (orcas), larger sharks, saltwater crocodiles, and humans are among the animals known to prey on sharks.
Do dolphins protect humans from sharks? ›The ancient Greeks told stories of dolphins protecting sailors, and it even happened on an episode of Flipper. It isn't surprising that people are fascinated by this idea. Unfortunately, there just isn't any reliable evidence that it's true.
What is a sharks biggest weakness? ›
Sharks may be fearsome predators, but they have a little weakness: Most can't tolerate fresh water (probably, a good thing to humans). About 40% of bony fish live in fresh water, but only 5% of elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) can manage this feat.
What time of day are sharks most active? ›Avoid being in the water during low light hours (dawn or dusk) and at night when many sharks are most active and feeding. Sharks have never been shown to be attracted to the smell of human blood, however, it may still be advisable to stay out of the water if bleeding from an open wound.
Where do sharks bite the most? ›Most attacks occur in nearshore waters, typically inshore of a sandbar or between sandbars where sharks feed and can become trapped at low tide. Areas with steep drop-offs are also likely attack sites. Sharks congregate there because their natural food items also congregate in these areas.
Why are sharks not attracted to period blood? ›A shark's sense of smell is powerful – it allows them to find prey from hundreds of yards away. Menstrual blood in the water could be detected by a shark, just like any urine or other bodily fluids. However, there is no positive evidence that menstruation is a factor in shark bites.
Do great white sharks like deep or shallow water? ›Great white sharks are epipelagic fish. This means they usually inhabit the uppermost layer of the water at depths of up to 656 feet. Most of a great white's life is spent at such depths. Great whites dive lower, usually when they migrate.
What music do great white sharks like? ›Great whites are supersensitive to low-frequency vibrations, which they use to detect shoals of fish, so the thumping, rumbling tones and beats of death metal are perfect for the sharks to pick up on.
What shark gets mistaken for a great white? ›Great white sharks are the most aggressive and dangerous sharks in the world. And due to their appearance, salmon sharks often get mistaken for great whites.
Can sharks see in the dark? ›Sharks also have the ability to see well in the dark because of a layer of mirrored crystals behind their retina called tapetum lucidum. It reflects light giving them a second chance to see the image as it goes through the retina again.
What do sharks do at night? ›On the other hand, most shark species are strictly nocturnal, meaning they are active during the night, hunting for prey. During the day, they are somewhat sluggish and may rest on the ocean floor or in a cave.
What do sharks do all day? ›Sharks do engage in periods of rest throughout the day, but it is much different from the kind of sleep that other animals engage in. It is true that many types of sharks must keep moving in order to receive life-giving oxygen from the water passing through their gills.
Can a shark fight an orca? ›
They're powerful and smart, and they can take down other dreaded creatures in the ocean's depths. Among the animals that orcas kill are great white sharks. These sharks are powerful in their own right, but they're not strong enough to take on an orca.
What animals do orcas hate? ›Orcas and great white sharks are both fascinating creatures in themselves and both for different reasons. The great white shark suits everyone's version of what the ocean's most fearsome predator is all about.
Why does it sound weird underwater? ›This is because water is denser than air. Since sound waves travel so much faster underwater than in air, it is much harder for us to detect where they are coming from. Our bodies have something called bone conductivity. This is a process in which the mastoid, the bone behind our ears, takes in sounds.
Can you hear underwater sounds above water? ›Sound that's generated underwater stays underwater; very little sound passes from water to air. When your head is out of the water and you listen to a sound made underwater, you don't hear much.
Can animals make noise underwater? ›Many marine animals rely on sound for survival and depend on unique adaptations that enable them to communicate, protect themselves, locate food, navigate underwater, and/or understand their environment. They may both produce sounds and listen to the sounds around them.
Do fish make noise underwater? ›Along with snapping shrimps, spine-rattling urchins and orchestral whales, many species of fish contribute to the cacophony of underwater sound – grunting, clicking, honking, groaning, burping and even grinding their teeth for many reasons.
What are the strangest sounds ever recorded in the ocean? ›"The Bloop" is the given name of a mysterious underwater sound recorded in the 90s. Years later, NOAA scientists discovered that this sound emanated from an iceberg cracking and breaking away from an Antarctic glacier.
How far can you hear underwater? ›The area in the ocean where sound waves refract up and down is known as the "sound channel." The channeling of sound waves allows sound to travel thousands of miles without the signal losing considerable energy.
What is the loudest sound possible in water? ›Oddly enough, in air, a sound can't get any higher than about 194 decibels and in water it's around 270. This is because sound is an example of something where the measurements break down at either end of the scale.
Can you be heard if you scream underwater? ›Sound needs a medium to travel through (that's why in the vacuum of space, no one can hear you scream), and sound moves four times faster through water than it does air.
Can fish hear you talk underwater? ›
Yes, fish can hear you talk!
But barely, unless you are shouting. Sounds that are created above water typically do not carry enough force to penetrate the surface tension of the water, so talking on the boat or loud noise may not affect fish as much as your fellow anglers may want you to think.
Unlike fish, whales and dolphins can't breathe underwater. In fact, they are more like humans than fish when it comes to breathing. Both of these aquatic mammals have lungs for breathing air (which they do through what it is commonly known as a blowhole).
What animal makes the loudest sound underwater? ›The blue whale, the largest animal on earth, can produce loud whistling calls that reach up to 188 db. These calls can travel up to 500 miles underwater. But the loudest is the sperm whale. It makes a series of clicking noises that can reach as high as 230 db making it the loudest animal in the world.
Do fishes sleep? ›While fish do not sleep in the same way that land mammals sleep, most fish do rest. Research shows that fish may reduce their activity and metabolism while remaining alert to danger. Some fish float in place, some wedge themselves into a secure spot in the mud or coral, and some even locate a suitable nest.
What is the sound a snake makes called? ›To hiss is to make a long s sound. Snakes are known to hiss, and sometimes unhappy audience members will hiss instead of booing. The sound you make when you hiss — also called a hiss — sounds just like the word itself.
What is the sound of a crocodile called? ›Many crocodiles vocalize to communicate. The young of various species use several squeaking and grunting sounds, and adults may grunt, growl, and hiss. For example, Siamese crocodiles and caimans emit a loud hiss when threatened, and hatchlings of most species make sounds described as grunts or quacks.