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Bull Shark

(Zambezi Shark)

Carcharhinus leucas

Order: Carcharhiniformes

Features: Teeth 13/12.  Grey with tips of fins slightly darker.

Habitat: Continental coasts of all tropical and subtropical seas; the only shark to come a very long way up into rivers and lakes: the Amazon, Mississippi, River Gambia, Zambezi, Limpopo, Tigris, Chatt-al-Arab, Ganges, Lake Nicaragua, Lake Yzabel (Guatemala), Panama Canal, Lake Jamoer (New Guinea) and Lake Macquarie (Australia).  Often found in muddy waters.  Not found in any lake not connected to the sea (for reasons of breeding).  Ascends the Amazon as far as Peru (3,700 kilometers).  Tolerates the hypersalinity of St. Lucia lake (53% instead of 35%) in South Africa.  Has survived for 15 years in captivity.

Food: Very Varied like that of the Tiger Shark, from turtles through all saltwater and freshwater fish to other sharks.  Even eats young of its own species, birds, dolphins, antelopes, rats, dogs and sloths.  The only difference in diet from Tiger Shark is that it is less fond of refuse.  This is perhaps the most dangerous shark of all, even more so than the Great White or the Tiger.

Maximum Size: 3.4 meters.  Females bigger than males.  Newborn pups 56 to 81 centimeters.

General:  Fished for its flesh, its skin and its liver.  This shark has often been confused with the Java Shark and especially the Ganges Shark.  The many victims credited to the latter could be attributable in part to the formidable Bull Shark.