Sharks have ruled the oceans for over 400 million years, long before dinosaurs walked the Earth. With sleek, hydrodynamic bodies and skeletons made of cartilage instead of bone, they’re built for speed, stealth, and survival. Their multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth are constantly replaced, and their senses are finely tuned: they can detect a single drop of blood in the water from hundreds of meters away and sense the electric fields of nearby prey.
There are over 500 species of sharks, ranging from the gentle, plankton-eating whale shark to the lightning-fast shortfin mako and the iconic great white. Despite their fearsome reputation, most sharks pose no threat to humans. In fact, they play a vital role in marine ecosystems by keeping prey populations in check and maintaining healthy ocean balance.
This edition of World-Wide Q&A dives into the deep with sharks, ancient, misunderstood, and essential. As apex predators and evolutionary marvels, they remind us that the ocean’s most feared creatures are also among its most important.