Do Hammerhead Sharks Bite?

Hammerhead sharks are very neat animals, partly because of their unique appearance with their long, horizontal head shape. Read on to learn more about these awesome sharks. 

Do hammerhead sharks bite people? On occasion, hammerheads have bitten people, but it is not common. There have been 17 unprovoked attacks on humans from hammerhead sharks. And none of these attacks resulted in any fatalities. This is a fairly low number, considering that there are about 80 unprovoked great white shark bites every year all over the world. 

Even though there have not been a large amount of hammerhead shark attacks on humans, they are extremely large animals and they eat a wide variety of prey, so they should always be treated with caution and respect. 

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What do hammerhead sharks eat? 

Even though hammerhead sharks rarely bit people, they certainly eat other animals! Hammerhead sharks, like all sharks, are carnivores, meaning that they eat the meat of other animals. Hammerhead sharks mostly eat food that they find on the seafloor, like stingrays (their favorite meal), octopuses, squids, crustaceans, and even other sharks.

These sharks use their unique head shape to pin down their prey. Another benefit that sharks have from their head shape is that their eyes are on the side of their heads which allows them to be able to see more of the seafloor than other sharks. 

Where do hammerhead sharks live? 

Hammerhead sharks live in oceans worldwide. They can be found both on shorelines and far off the shore in temperate and tropical waters. In the summer, hammerhead sharks migrate north in search for cooler waters. 

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How big do hammerhead sharks get? 

There are actually nine different breeds of hammerhead sharks. The largest hammerhead shark is called the great hammerhead shark. This shark has an average length of 13 feet long and an average weight of about 500 pounds. With that being said, the largest great hammerhead shark ever recorded was 20 feet long! Also, the heaviest great hammerhead shark ever recorded weighed 500 pounds. 

Are hammerhead sharks endangered? 

According to the Australian Marine Conservation Society, there are three species of hammerhead sharks native to the waters surrounding the country that are considered threatened. The great hammerhead shark and the scalloped hammerhead shark are both considered to be critically endangered, while the smooth hammerhead is considered vulnerable.

This is due in part to commercial fishing and shark culling, which is the deliberate killing of sharks in response to a shark attack. Other hammerhead sharks that are at risk include the scalloped bonnethead, which is approaching threatened status, the smooth hammerhead and the golden hammerhead, both of which are classified as vulnerable, and the winghead shark, which is endangered. 

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Hammerhead sharks
Sooo many hammerhead sharks

How old do hammerhead sharks live to be? 

The average lifespan of hammerhead sharks is about 20 to 30 years, but the oldest hammerhead shark on record lived approximately 40 years! 

Can hammerhead sharks live in captivity? 

There are a couple of places around the world where there are hammerhead sharks living in captivity. There are only five aquariums in the world that house a great hammerhead shark though. Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the Adventure Aquarium located in Camden, New Jersey, are two places that have housed hammerhead sharks.

Wild ocean animals, such as hammerheads, that live in captivity, are often in captivity due to being rescued and rehabbed or for reasons including scientific research, conservation, and education. 

What are the most dangerous sharks? 

There are well over 400 different species of sharks that live in our planet’s oceans. These are the ten most dangerous types of sharks. 

10. Blue Shark 

9. Bronze Whaler Shark 

8. Spinner Shark 

7. Hammerhead Shark 

6. Wobbegong Shark 

5. Sand Tiger Shark 

4. Blacktip Shark 

3. Bull Shark 

2. Striped Tiger Shark 

1. Great White Shark 

What are the most endangered sharks? 

Since we learned that many types of hammerhead sharks are endangered or threatened, you may be wondering if they are considered to be one of the most endangered of all sharks. Hammerheads are not considered to be in the top ten most endangered, but that does not mean that we can stop worrying about them. 

10. Smoothback Angelshark 

9. Sawback Angelshark 

8. Angelshark 

7. Striped Smooth Hound 

6. Daggernose Shark 

5. Natal Shyshark 

4. New Guinea River Shark 

3. Irrawaddy River Shark 

2. Ganges Shark 

1. Pondicherry Shark