Who is bigger than an elephant or a shark in size. Who is the biggest on Earth? The blue whale is a giant of giants

The second largest shark in existence is once again frightening Italians.

Yesterday, April 22, in the afternoon, two vacationers on the Italian coast were "lucky" to witness one of the largest sharks on the planet. A giant shark (Cetorhinus maximus) swam between the island of Gallinara and the city of Albenga. According to eyewitnesses, the giant "jaws" were moving in the direction of the port of Loano, in Albengo. The elephant shark has already become interested in a specialized center for the study of cetaceans: its specialists are checking how much a specimen that has appeared on the coast can be dangerous to humans.

Giant elephant shark is the second largest of the sharks now preserved on Earth and is second only to the whale in size. This species belongs to the category of endangered species. Its laterally compressed snout sometimes hangs over its mouth, like a trunk, and its laterally flattened head makes the shark look like an elephant. The mass of such a "fish" can reach 10 tons, and the length is 14 meters. Fortunately, huge individuals are extremely rare, but small representatives of the species ranging in length from 4 to 8 meters and weighing up to 6 tons are not a sight for the faint of heart. The giant shark is prone to a sedentary lifestyle, the speed of its movement is 3 - 5 km / h. Sometimes, in places of accumulation of plankton, representatives of this species gather in small flocks. Several sharks-elephants plying on the surface with open mouths can catch fear on anyone. But ichthyologists reassure: giant sharks are not dangerous to humans, since they are not predators and feed exclusively on plankton. Their stomachs can hold up to a ton of plankton, but their teeth do not grow more than 5 mm.

The length of the elephant shark seen yesterday on the Ligurian coast did not exceed 4 meters, that is, it had a rather miniature size. Although the eyewitnesses hardly thought so. On the other hand, this is not the first time a giant shark has appeared in Italy. And tour operators in the entertainment program, in addition to clear waters and golden beaches, just right to include the opportunity to contemplate an endangered species of giant sharks in their natural habitat.

You stand on the shore of the ocean, look at the endless expanses, and the thought involuntarily creeps in, and what kind of inhabitants are hidden by the water column?

The fauna of the seas and oceans in humans is primarily associated with whales and sharks, so you can often hear the question, what are the largest animals in the world?

Let's try to deal with giant water monsters and highlight the tallest inhabitants of the oceans and seas.

Everyone knows from childhood that the largest animal on the planet is the whale. According to distant ancestors, three of these animals were holding the Earth on their backs. Well, if we turn to science, it turns out that the largest (of those who were measured) specimen of a blue (blue) whale grew to 33.58 meters, and it was a female. The heaviest blue whale (caught) weighed over 190 tons. And then, the specialists had to weigh the record holder in parts, so the error was huge. Either way, the result is impressive. Because 190 tons is the mass of two dozen elephants.

By the way, the blue whale is also considered the most "vociferous" animal in the world. It can make sounds that are audible 800 kilometers and beyond.

However, it is not easy for a whale to win the palm in the race to become the largest animal on the planet. In the dispute, which, by the way, continues now, some other inhabitants of the planet accept. And all of them, oddly enough, are marine inhabitants. There are even semi-mythical ones on the list, the existence of which is only suspected. For example, megalodon. Many sensationalists are trying to question the fact of its extinction to this day. There are even witnesses who observed giant sharks, and they say that it was not a whale or even a whale shark. But it is worth noting the real representatives of the fauna, who are fighting for the title of the largest animal on Earth. More precisely, if you say the longest. This is a giant jellyfish lion's mane or cyanea. The broadband giant of the aquatic world can grow up to 37 meters (including tentacles). The diameter of the umbrella of this living creature is about 250 centimeters. And if we objectively evaluate these facts, then the jellyfish is longer and larger than the whale.

One more representative of the sea fauna does not lag behind the jellyfish. This is a giant sea worm bootlace. In the 19th century, a worm about 55 meters long was found after a storm on the coast of Scotland near St. Andrews. Its width was only 10 centimeters. However, scientists did not recognize the giant as a giant. This is because worms can stretch and contract. Whale shark However, sharks are also fighting for the title of largest. And which one can call itself the largest and largest fish in the oceans?

Now scientists are assigning the lead in body size to the whale shark. Experts believe that it is the largest fish known to science. However, the debate about the maximum size of the fish is still going on among scientists.

The record, which is documented, is 14 meters. But not infrequently there is information about the capture of a larger representative of the species. Some sharks grow up to 20 meters or more. For example, in 2002, near Chinese Taiwan, fishermen caught a female weighing 34 tons and a length of 20 meters.

Scientists note that the difficulty in setting the limiting sizes of a whale shark is not only that large specimens are quite rare in nature. In fact, this fish is listed in the IUCN International Red List and is prohibited from fishing. Capturing an animal is punishable by law.

But this fact rarely stops poachers, since only the fins of this individual in the Asian markets cost tens of thousands of dollars. And if fishermen manage to catch a whale shark, then, of course, the catch is hidden from prying eyes and ears, especially scientists. The fish is usually butchered on site, the fins, the most valuable pieces of the body, are trimmed, and the rest is returned to the sea.

Despite the controversy of scientists, no one denies that the whale shark is the largest modern fish known to science. By the way, almost nothing is known about their breeding method. Until recently, the shark was believed to lay eggs. This conclusion was made after a huge egg 36 centimeters long was found at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico in 1953. And he was mistaken for the future baby whale shark. But at the end of the last century, a pregnant female was caught, inside which there were embryos that had already hatched. Therefore, it became clear that sharks reproduce by means of egg production. Small sharks are already emerging with a length of 60 centimeters.

Whale shark in the water

By the way, the biggest shark that a man has caught is the whale shark. She was harpooned off the Pakistani coast (near Baba Island) in 1949. The weight of the giant was 20 tons, while the length was almost 13 meters. The body circumference is also impressive - 7 meters. The fishermen immediately killed the fish, cut it up in parts and sold it.

Another inhabitant of the waters, a giant shark, has not gone far from the record holder. It is known that the size of such fish reaches 11 meters. And information about the capture of a larger individual (up to 15 meters) is available, but it is not documented. It is worth noting that the giant shark and whale shark are almost not dangerous for humans. They feed only on zooplankton. And they are not at all interested in man as a prey.

And they are dangerous because with one movement of the tail fin they can break a person's spine or cause other serious injury. Therefore, in the immediate vicinity of monster fish, you need to be careful.

Bigmouth shark

Large-mouthed sharks, a rather rare species of underwater predators, also grow quite large. The maximum recorded size of a largemouth shark is 7 meters. But who knows, suddenly larger individuals swim in the depths of the ocean.

Greatmouth shark

White shark

In 1978, in the Azores, near the harbor of San Miguel, a 7-meter white shark was caught with the help of dozens of harpoons. Today it is a record. The White Death, as it is also called, resisted the fishermen and killed two people. She broke the spine of one of them, and bite the other in half.

By the way, there are cases when a white shark was caught with a fishing rod. So, in 1959, the Australian Elf Dian caught a man-eater on a steel line in a small motor boat in the ocean. The weight of the predator was 1207 kilograms, and the length was just over five meters.
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I was asked a good question: "How to build operational management in a company where everyone is crazy about project activities?" This is a great question, as it reflects many of the trends that exist in modern business. He spawned a stream of thoughts. Which I wanted to write down, along the way telling about those myths that walk the market and infect the brains of entrepreneurs and leaders. Immediately I want to warn the reader that the reflections are multidirectional and I did not even make any serious attempts to structure them, and I made the subheadings just to facilitate perception.

What do an organization and a computer have in common?

First, let's compare an organization to a computer. Without an operating system, it's just a piece of hardware. High-tech, expensive, but still, piece of iron. Which can be pleasing to the eye, but no longer bring any benefit. A fully equipped office without employees might look much the same. Or with employees who do not communicate with each other, come to the workplace and sit idle all day. That is, they can potentially be useful, but not.

If the operating system is installed and running, then you can install applications on it that do something useful. At the same time, the OS itself does not offer any visible result. It "only" provides the ability to run programs. The quality of the operating system varies. Some programmers have deeply studied the capabilities of the "hardware" and wrote a program that ensures full performance. Moreover, they created a full-fledged guide for future developers of applied software. Others - did it for a tyap-blooper, so that at least somehow it worked. Moreover, only a die-hard fan who is not too lazy to find out the properties of the system through trial and error can write application programs. Any application software will work in the first system. In the second, there are only a couple of programs, and even then with failures.

People in the organization

Now let's get back to the organizations. Everything here is very similar, but a little more complicated. The people who make up the company's executive mechanism have an operating system installed from the start. That is, they can think, speak, make decisions, perform some operations with their hands. However, each has its own operating system. And it is far from always compatible with such a neighbor's system. Therefore, the organization needs a set of rules that will not only make the mechanism work, but also ensure the compatibility of all components. I will not write about how to do this in this article. For, firstly, this is a topic for other reflections, and secondly, I already write about this all the time.

Where are they looking for a way?

The market does not offer a universal way to build an organization suitable for a stall, a plant, and a trading company. Unless the state specifies several mandatory clauses of the charter, and sets requirements for the registration of relations with employees, transactions with partners and financial reporting. Where does this set of rules come from? Naturally, for those who have already managed to build effective organizations. Those who show high market results. Leaders.

And entrepreneurs rush to the top. They study the experience of successful companies. Read books on how to achieve business success. And they are trying to apply the same rules in their companies. However ... Attempts to transfer successful management models to most organizations often fail. Where are the numerous Zappos? Where is Patagonia? Where are the Toyota? Where is Tavrida Electric? They are all unique. Even though these companies are actively sharing "secrets," elsewhere they fail to achieve the same employee engagement, quality, or relationship system. So maybe the point is not what specific methodology is used in these companies? Could it be a business operating system? In those deep rules that are initially laid down in the system. Which are not visible to the naked eye, but have a critical impact on any process in the company. Let's figure it out.

And what are entrepreneurs and managers actually trying to transfer to their companies? Regulations and work routines? Bonus rules? The essence of conversations in smoking rooms? Whatever it is. For the most part, they try to implement only the theses that they have read in books, heard at seminars or received on excursions to successful enterprises. Theses that successful entrepreneurs believe led their company to success. “Organize processes”, “Take care of people”, “Counting money correctly”, “Be active”, etc. I can say with confidence that these slogans have not changed from year to year over the past hundred years, at least. Only the faces on the covers and the examples given in the books themselves change.

And the technology?

But what about the control technologies themselves? Little is written about them in the motivating literature. That is, they talk a lot about what needs to be done and very little about how. And here an army of consultants comes into play. Both professional and not so professional. Suggesting specific methods. Moreover, interestingly, the methods, as a rule, do not shine with novelty. But they change names regularly. After all, teaching methods is the same business as everyone else. And according to the laws of marketing, he must regularly offer the consumer a “new” product.

The success of consulting projects, in fact, is determined by only one thing: whether people do what is written in smart books or not. Maybe that's why IT projects are the most successful. After their implementation, it is simply impossible not to fulfill the requirements - you will not press the button at the right moment, you will not get the result. True, many manage to ignore such things, which is why expensive management software works by itself, and managers by themselves.

Who is stronger - an elephant or a shark?

But on the other hand, one can regularly hear arguments reminiscent of "my kung fu is better than your kung fu." This is argued by supporters of different approaches. “Project management is the only way,” some say. “We need structured management,” others answer. "Business processes!!!". "Linear functional diagram is what will save the world!" "Matrix! Only the matrix! " True, then they come to their workplaces and perform, with different levels of quality, the usual managerial actions (well, of course, if they have someone to lead): they set tasks, reprimand employees for mistakes, write down tasks in the diary and think, entrust them to someone or easier to do it yourself.

The essence of the disputes themselves most often lies in the fact that each of the disputants at one time was "poked" by a certain method, under which he is now trying to adjust the whole world. Often not paying attention to whether the technique actually takes root. And this is a consequence of the fact that there are many developers of specific methodologies (although not so much), and there are few developers of integral models. But in fact, it is useless to argue about whether the process approach or the project approach is better. Each methodology should be applied at a specific point in time and be relevant to the tasks at hand. Both that, and another can exist absolutely without interfering with each other. And more often, helping. To argue about whether to implement PMBOK or Agile (Yes! I've heard such a dispute too!) Is generally harmful. For the truth in such a dispute is not born, and the disputants, as a rule, do not own either one or the other. But to apologists of this or that doctrine, logic is not a decree. Some even declare the delivery of regular reporting a project.

And did you look at the main thing?

In the meantime, it is worth remembering that any methodology is not an operating system. This is application software. Which is set on culture - a set of beliefs, traditions and rituals adopted in a particular country, locality and company. Set on the core values ​​of employees and customers. And on the system of basic regulations of the company. Try, for example, to implement Agile in a company where it is not customary to strive for a result, but there is a tradition to arrange a rush at the end of each period. Or try creating Zappos where people don't like each other and compete for convenience and rewards. Or "Marriott" where there is a tradition to consider tourists as cattle. It should be remembered that such an "operating system" is often installed by default. And without replacing it with a more modern and technological product, it is simply impossible to think about applying any methodology. First, you need to provide "elementary" things: basic regulations, labor discipline, rules of motivation, etc. And for this it will be necessary to remove all aggressive carriers of the old culture from the company, and convince the rest to create new traditions. Otherwise, it will be the same as when trying to install an iPhone application on an android. That is, it can be written to memory, but will not work. Although ... you can be proud that you do have it. Quite a few already. To be a source of pride, it does not have to work at all (no, I am not at all hinting at the turquoise Sberbank).

Long and hard

However, rebooting values, regulations, motivational system, ideology is a long, dreary, difficult work and does not give results “right here and now”. Approximately the same as is required in order to achieve results in the gym - you cannot do with simulators alone: ​​you need the right diet, and the right routine, and even the right thoughts. Therefore, most skip this part and go straight to the study and implementation of the "magic wand". Just like in the gym, beginners immediately grab the heaviest barbell, injuring themselves and completely discouraging the desire to continue training. And magic wands are divided into two categories: those that give at least some result, slightly changing the outlook of the entrepreneur himself, and those that do not give any result at all. The first ones are pimped by entrepreneurs who acquire a strong belief that there is a universal way to improve the company. The latter also stick around, but make you believe that there is no universal way to improve. Or rather, that there are no ways at all. Then the conversations are like this: “We tried this and that. Nothing works because we didn't succeed. " Both are bullshit.

Fairy tales you want to believe in

But still, many believe that somewhere out there there are mysterious people, with an unattainable intellect and worldview, who managed to create something successful, despite the fact that it contradicts elementary logic. But it looks like it takes a lot of the burden off the entrepreneur. For example, many companies rave about "flat" structures. In reality, I have not yet seen a single such structure that works and brings results. Most often, these are systems that overload managers with control and lose efficiency. And the most responsible employees work for everyone else, only at the same time they do not have real powers, because now they are called not leaders, but “mentors” or something else. But a normal hierarchy is necessary for any company.

Or they believe that there are such IT systems that take companies to a new level. However, no system will work for employees. It can only force them to perform certain actions and reduce the number of employees themselves, reducing the negative impact of the human factor. But is this a new level?

And many entrepreneurs believe that with clever tools they can make employees think the way they do. Believe that leadership can be taught. And along with the fact that there is a magical way to do all this without changing their own habits. Well, well ... crystal balls and proprietary media have always found their audience.

Well her, this reality

Once upon a time, I also believed that there are secrets that just need to be learned in order to create ideal systems. And then it turned out that there was only one secret. Those who achieve real success or have a unique product that provides the company with leadership in a certain segment for a certain period of time, which is enough to build a "modern technology" company. Or there is a monopoly. Or a unique manager who managed to infect the entire company with his ideas. And all these companies have a well-built system of regulations, rules and ideas. The correct operating system is in place, without which all "secrets" are useless. But this is harder to believe. There is nothing magical about it.

Work, damn it

Well, and ending this chaotic stream of thoughts, I will answer one question “What to do?”, Which entrepreneurs and managers regularly ask me. Work. And hope not for a miracle, but for the painstaking construction of the system. That is, in fact, on yourself.

A person often asks the question: is he alone in the Universe? Is there life elsewhere or is he all, all alone? We do not know the answers. Bye. But before looking, holding your breath, at the stars, it is better to look around, because we share the planet with myriads of other creatures, each of which is unique and inimitable in its own way.

The smallest can only be discerned with the help of a very powerful technique, for others, the person himself can become an annoying, but easily overcome obstacle. It is these large animals that make people stop to once again admire the diversity and bizarre fantasy of nature. Let's do it too.

The blue whale is a giant of giants

At this particular historical point in time, blue whales are the largest animals on earth, in water and in the air. Photos or videos can be impressive, but they don't even come close to their size. On land, these giants may seem a little awkward, but in the water they are second to none. As for the size, here are just a few facts to help you get a feel for their size:

1. The whale can be up to 33 meters long. If it's hard to imagine, imagine a nine-story building and add one more floor to it.
2. The weight of such a giant can be up to 200 tons. For example, Daewoo Matiz weighs less than 800 kilograms, that is, a whale is 250 times larger than a small, but still a car.
3. An adult animal spends 1 million calories per day. We would have to eat 500 kilograms of beef chops for this, but a whale costs a ton of krill.
4. The second largest animal is the elephant, but it weighs about the same as the whale's tongue alone.

This is only a small part of the information about this magnificent animal, but even it allows you to imagine how huge it is.

African elephant - king of the pampas

We have already spoken about this animal above, but this does not mean that it does not deserve a more detailed description. If blue whales are super champions of all elements, then the African elephant conquered only land, but there is no more massive animal on it. Here are a couple of interesting facts:

1. The elephant young ladies weigh about three tons, their gentlemen - up to five, and the very best can increase up to seven and a half tons of live weight.
2. The baby elephant is born very tiny - only a centner of weight and a meter of growth, but he eats a lot of mother's fat milk and grows quickly.
3. A mature male's tusks can weigh up to 100 kilograms each.

Of course, compared to the blue whale, these numbers are not very impressive, but life in the air dictates its limits. On the other hand, other animals are even smaller.

Giraffe - 6 meters of misunderstanding

It's hard to imagine the vagaries of evolution that gave birth to these strange creatures with their long legs and neck length comparable to them. But you can safely admire the result, if not in a natural environment, then at least in a photo or video. And to make it interesting to admire, here are some dry statistical facts:

1. The growth of a giraffe can reach six meters, of which 2 is only the neck. At the same time, they weigh relatively little - 1000-1200 kilograms. Not surprising given that they mostly consist of legs and a neck.
2. Despite the fact that the length of the giraffe's neck strikes the wildest fantasies, approaching nightmares, there are as many vertebrae in it as in the neck of a person - 7 pieces.
3. The giraffe's tongue is another asset. He can stick it out almost half a meter.
4. It is difficult to imagine a running giraffe, but he knows how to do it not bad at all, developing a speed of up to 55 km / h. The jumping giraffe looks even more phantasmagoric. But at the same time, he can overcome the bar of two meters.

Thus, despite the seeming awkwardness and awkwardness, the giraffe is a miracle of nature, strong, hardy and ideally adapted for life in its conditions. Of course, this is not the largest animal in the world, but it is consistently among the top three.

Southern Elephant Seal - Fat Wineskin

The elephant seal is the largest species of pinnipeds, and the southern branch is much larger than its relatives. They live, as the name suggests, at the South Pole, which determined their appearance. In a harsh climate, and even more so ice (in the literal sense of the word) water, one cannot survive without a thick layer of fat that would protect him from this disgrace.

True, because of this, they began to look like wineskins filled with liquid fat, especially when they waddle in a rookery. But in the water they acquire the grace of a bird and the focus of a torpedo. In this regard, these large animals once again confirm that nature does nothing for nothing, adapting each creature to certain conditions. Several main parameters of these giants:

1. In length, the male can grow up to 6 meters, having accumulated 5 tons of weight. His spouses are more miniature, their weight is about one ton at 2-3 meters in length.
2. A newly born baby weighs only 50 kilograms.
3. In the rookery there can be several hundred females and only a few dozen males who have won the right to be in this paradise.

Fat, clumsy, ugly - in fact, elephant seals are the personification of grace. Under the water. Not surprisingly, this is where they spend 70-80% of their lives.

Ostrich - a running bird

It is worth many, many times to thank nature that ostriches and their relatives do not fly. Otherwise, it would be scary to imagine what the monuments and squares of cities, which they would choose as their permanent location, would turn into. Their flight would resemble carpet bombing. And now you yourself will understand why:

1. The weight of an adult large ostrich can be up to 150 kilograms with a growth of 2.5 meters.
2. Their head is small, but very beautiful and large eyes. The brain already fits badly in the head, so it is comparable in size to the eyes.
3. Ostriches cannot fly, but they run excellently: at a speed of up to 60 km / h. Even chicks of one month old can reach speeds of up to 50 km / h, catching up with their mother.

Ostriches are beautiful and elegant birds. But still, it's good that they don't fly.

Liger - from a change in the places of the terms, the amount changes

There are three types of cats: domestic cats, small feral cats, and large feral cats. In this case, the liger could be called a very large wild cat. It is not surprising, because they are much larger than the lion dad and the tigress mother. Such marriages are quite rare, but any zoos or parks are proud of children.

This hybrid looks like a lion with dull, blurry stripes, but it's not that interesting, but their size. Here are some facts:

1. Liger Hercules weighs 400 kilograms, twice overtaking dad and his relatives.
2. The largest liger, marked by the Guinness Book of Records, weighed 798 kilograms. It can be easily divided into 4 lions.
3. The descendant from the tiger father and lioness mother is called the tigron, but he does not have such an impressive size.

In the Novosibirsk zoo, 4 liligres are now growing up - the eldest girl Kiara and newborn triplets. They were born from the marriage of a lion and a lion, creating a very rare and unique species. It is difficult to say yet whether they will be able to surpass their predecessor parents.

Grizzly is not a teddy bear at all
The grizzly bear is our Americanized native brown bear. But, having moved abroad, he acquired impressive claws, a bad temper, and besides, he grew up a little. See for yourself:

• On average, the height of a grizzly bear ranges from 2.2 meters to 2.8.
• The weight is about half a tone.
• Some, the most experienced, reach a height of 4 meters. Weight and bad temper increase in proportion.
• The bear loves aggressive manicure: the length of its claws is about 15 centimeters, twice as long as human fingers.

Now you know what is the largest animal on our planet. Unfortunately, most of the champions listed in our article have firmly established themselves in the Red Book. If humanity does not change its attitude towards them in the near future, then they risk moving to Black. Our grandchildren run the risk of learning about them: by photo and video.

Go to the section table of contents: Sharks

Family: Cetornidae = Giant Sharks

Genus: Cetorhinus = Giant Sharks

Elephant Shark = Giant Shark

L.A. BELOVA

In the winter of 1939, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, near the city of Provincetown in the US state of Massachusetts, a huge animal skeleton was found bleached by the sea. Its length was about 7.5 m. And although the huge skull resembled the skull of a fish, four truncated legs, or rather, "bones" from them, and a long elongated spine caused bewilderment. Soon there was talk of the "sea serpent" all over the coast.

But, as it turned out, ske years this belonged to the giant shark (Cetorhinus maximus) - the second largest surviving shark. In length, this fish can reach 14 m and weigh up to 10 tons. This is only slightly less than that of the "record holder" - the whale shark (Rhincodon typus). The pectoral fins of a giant shark are large and powerful - they serve as "supporting planes" that do not allow the heavy front half of the fish's body to sink down during swimming. When the body of a dead giant shark is thrown ashore and the soft tissues decompose, the remains of these fins remain next to the oblong skull and long spine. And if it was a male shark, then a couple of meter pterygopodia can also be found near the skeleton. As a result, it seems that the remains of some mysterious four-legged are lying on the shore.

Very large specimens of the giant shark are rare, but “small” specimens of this species look impressive - their average length is 4–8 m, and their weight is from 3 to 6 tons. Despite its frightening appearance, the giant shark is a harmless creature. This fish feeds on plankton, which collects, cruising at the surface of the water at a speed of two or three knots (3-5 km / h) with a wide open mouth and filtering through the gills every hour up to 2000, and according to other sources - up to 6000 tons of water. The teeth of a giant shark are small, no more than 0.5 cm. But the gill slits are huge - they cover the head from the dorsal side to the throat, and when the fish protrudes its gills, it seems that its head is about to break off from the body. And through the open mouth you can see the inside of the branchial cavity. Each branchial arch carries 1000-1300 long horny branchials chicks on which planktonic organisms settle. The stomach of a giant shark is very large - in large specimens, about 1 ton of plankton mass was found in it.

In some juveniles of the giant shark, the snout compressed from the sides hangs over the mouth like a trunk, and the head is flattened on the sides, which makes the fish look like an old elephant with sunken cheeks. Such fish are called "elephant shark", and they have long been considered a separate species. In adult giant sharks, the snout is bent to a lesser extent, and the resemblance to an elephant disappears.

The giant shark lives in moderately cold and temperate waters of both hemispheres. Individual specimens are also found in our country - off the coast of the Kola Peninsula and even in the White Sea. In summer, giant sharks actively feed or drift slowly, protruding their dorsal and caudal fins, as well as the tip of their snouts, out of the water. For this, the British call them basking shark - a shark basking in the sun. These fish keep singly or in small groups.

Almost nothing is known about the breeding of the giant shark. The smallest ever caught fish of this species had a length of 165 cm. According to indirect data, it can be judged that these sharks are ovoviviparous and give birth to 1-2 cubs, and the "pregnancy" lasts at least 3 years.

In winter, when the number of planktonic organisms decreases and the water temperature becomes low, giant sharks are almost invisible. Many researchers believe that during this time, the energy consumption of swimming to collect plankton would be much higher than the shark could get from food. Therefore, these fish are probably inactive during the winter, which allows them to economically use the fat reserves accumulated in the summer. They lie passively on the ocean floor in such a position that the current ensures the flow of water through the gills. But what is really the case is unknown - maybe the fish just migrate south and stay far from the coast.

Fat reserves are deposited mainly in the liver, the weight of which can be up to 20% of the total weight of the fish. Because of this fat, which was used for technical purposes, giant sharks have long been hunted along the Atlantic coast of Europe. Seeing an animal grazing in the plankton fields, the hunters approached it in boats or small boats and pelted it with harpoons. When it became known that shark liver oil contains more vitamins than the classic "fish oil" - cod, the demand for giant sharks increased dramatically. Especially a lot of sharks were hunted during World War II. Then the boom passed, but the stocks of these amazing fish were undermined. Now the giant shark is rare and listed in the International Red Book ...