4 Hammerhead Shark Facts For Kids

The Hammerhead Shark gets its unusual name because of the unusual shape of its head. The head of the shark appears to be flat and looks like a hammer from the side. There are actual 11 different types of Hammerhead Sharks with the Great Hammerhead being the largest.

These sharks like all sharks are predators. They hunt for food using their special senses to pick up electrical impulses of prey around them. Their uniquely shaped head wit their wide set eyes helps them to see a much greater field than other predators in the ocean.

1. How Big Are They?

Hammerhead Sharks can range in lengthy from a small 3 feet from tip of the tail to tip of the nose up to 17 feet from tip of the tail to the tip of the nose. They can weigh any where from 6 pounds to 1200 plus pounds!

2. Where Do They Live?

Hammerheads like temperate ocean waters so they inhabit deep ocean waters around the world wherever the water is warm. They live offshore and are not bound by territories. They swim freely through out the worlds oceans with only the lack of very cold water being their guide.

3. What Do They Eat ?

The Hammerhead Shark is a predator and the 11 different types do vary in size so hunting is limited by size. In other words the smaller of the species will live mainly on a diet of small fish, squid, crustaceans and the Great Hammerhead is sometimes known to participate in cannibalism by eating smaller Hammerheads. The bigger the shark the bigger the prey they will eat.

Basically their diets consist of whatever is in the ocean although they rarely will attack humans. There have been 33 recorded attacks on humans but no fatalities.

4. They Are Endangered

Hammerhead Sharks are considered an endangered species because Asian cultures often hunt them for their fins. It is believed by many Asian cultures that shark fin has the potential to increase overall health and vitality in men. Many times fisherman prize the fin beyond the rest of the fish so they cut off the fin and than return the shark to the ocean unable to survive. Of course the shark eventually bleeds to death.

Shark fishing is regulated by licensing and is heavily regulated but unfortunately it does not stop commercial fisherman from doing their best to skirt the law.