Your Paw-some Question | What happens if you get eaten by a shark?

Dooooo-doo, Dooooo-doo. 🦈 Today Cosmo and I learn about sharks and their rad digestive systems—all thanks to my friend, Dr. Nora Hickey, fish veterinarian at Washington State University. 

Want to learn more about fish? Check out Dr. Hickey's Fishkeep & Chill website 🦈

As always, submit burning questions at askdruniverse.wsu.edu. Who knows where your questions will take us next.

Transcript

Cosmo 

Hey, Dr. Universe. 

Dr. Universe 

Hey, Cosmo. 

Cosmo 

Why do sharks live in salt water? 

Dr. Universe 

I don't know. Why? 

Cosmo 

Because pepper water makes them sneeze! 

Dr. Universe 

Hey, friends, I'm Dr. Universe.

Cosmo 

And I'm Cosmo. 

Dr. Universe 

And if you're anything like us, you've got lots of big questions about our world. Today's question comes from Prince in Georgia, who asks: What happens if you get eaten by a shark? 

Cosmo 

Yikes, that sounds scary. Have you ever been nervous about sharks, Dr. Universe? 

Dr. Universe 

Oh, definitely. When I was a kitten, I saw a movie about shark attacks, and it made me nervous to go into the water. But I talked with my friend, Dr. Nora Hickey, a fish veterinarian at Washington State University. And guess what she told me: sharks don't actually eat people or cats. 

Cosmo 

Wait, what? They don't? 

Dr. Universe 

Nope. Many sharks can't even bite. They have mouths designed to sift sand or slurp up plankton. And the sharks that can bite usually go for prey with a thick fat layer like seals and sea lions. Muscly animals like birds, cats, and people don't taste so good to sharks. 

Cosmo 

So, if one did bite me…

Dr. Universe 

It'd probably be like, “No, thank you” and spit you right out. 

Cosmo 

Okay, so if humans are a bad snack, why do sharks sometimes attack them? 

Dr. Universe 

Most of the time it's a mistake. Or the shark is just defending itself. Sharks have incredible senses. They can smell tiny traces in the water from very far away. They can hear for miles. And they can even detect electricity in the water. 

Cosmo 

Detect electricity? How? 

Dr. Universe 

Have you ever seen a picture of a shark's snout? It has itty bitty holes all over it. Those are pores called ampullae of Lorenzini. They're filled with a snot-like jelly that helps sharks sense electrical signals from living things like mollusks hiding under the sand. 

Cosmo 

Whoa. So, if I'm splashing around, a shark might think I'm dinner?

Dr. Universe 

Exactly. It might take a nibble to check. 

Cosmo 

Yikes. 

Dr. Universe 

The shark would probably chomp down and then shake its head from side to side. It does that to get a good bite because sharks can't chew up and down like we do. 

Some sharks roll back their eyes when they bite or slide a protective membrane over them. That protects their eyes if the prey fights back. 

And you can expect some of its teeth to pop out when it bites you. Shark lose teeth all the time. They have rows and rows of backup teeth ready to go. Dr. Hickey told me the ocean floor is covered in shark teeth. 

Cosmo 

That's cool. And also kind of gross. 

Dr. Universe 

Pretty much. But here's the thing: once the shark realizes you're a human or a cat, it'll usually swim away. Still, if you did get swallowed, you'd take a very weird ride. 

Cosmo 

Oh, boy. 

Dr. Universe 

Sharks and sturgeons have a spiral valve intestine. It's like a twisty water slide. All those twists and turns help them digest food without a super long gut. 

Cosmo 

So, I'd be sliding through a shark's intestines? 

Dr. Universe 

Yeah, you or some piece of you. But the truth is that humans are much more dangerous to sharks. People hunt them and accidentally catch them in nets. That's super bad because many sharks need to swim in order to breathe. If they get stuck, they can't move water over their gills. 

Cosmo 

Plus, humans drive loud boats through their homes. And sometimes try to touch sharks in the wild, which is a terrible idea—even if the shark seems gentle. 

Dr. Universe 

Exactly. Sharks are powerful and fascinating and a little misunderstood. That's all for this episode, friends. 

Cosmo 

Big thanks to Dr. Nora Hickey for helping us out today and to Prince for the fantastic question. 

Dr. Universe 

As always, if you've got a science question for me, you can submit it at askdruniverse.wsu.edu. That's A S K D R U N I V E R SE dot W S U dot E D U. 

Who knows where your questions will take us next.