If you think that just because you're swimming in freshwater that you're safe from sharks, you might want to think again.

Not only do ferocious bull sharks roam as freely through freshwater as they do in saltwater, but bull sharks have been found as far inland as Indiana in the Ohio River and Illinois in the Mississippi River. Along with the great white shark and the tiger shark, bull sharks are among the top three species most likely to attack humans. Yikes!

There are also at least five other species of true river sharks, which are exclusive to freshwater rivers in Southeast Asia and Australia. All river sharks are capable of growing to over 10 feet in length, and are more than capable of consuming a human.

Feeding sharks for the benefit of divers is becoming more and more common, but is controversial. New research suggests that feeding in areas with several different sharks, over time, leads to one species increasing in numbers at the expense of the others. Published in PLOS ONE⁽¹⁾, the study looked at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve feeding site in Fiji from 2003 to 2012.

Eight species of shark regularly visited the site in 2003: bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas), grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos), whitetip reef shark (Triaenodon obesus), blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus), tawny nurse shark (Nebrius ferrugineus), silvertip shark (Carcharhinus albimarginatus), sicklefin lemon shark (Negaprion acutidens), and tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier). By 2012, there were more individual sharks visiting, but fewer species. The winner was the bull shark. The smaller tawny nurse shark, silvertip shark and sicklefin lemon shark became very rare visitors.

At 9 foot long, not including the tail, tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) Harry Lindo is not exactly on the small side.  It’s not Harry’s size that is exciting scientists and shark enthusiasts, nor a photograph taken in 2009 by Ian Card showing a shark – suspected to be Harry, trying to eat a 150 lb juvenile tiger shark off the coast of Bermuda.  Between 2009 and 2012 researchers tagged 24 tiger sharks with satellite transmitters in the Challenger Bank, which lies just off Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean.  In study lead by James Lea (The Guy Harvey Research Institute, Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center) and team of international collaborators, those shark movements have been compiled and analysed.  Harry, it turns out, is one heck of an ocean wanderer.  In just over 3 years Harry swam over 44,000 kilometres – that’s more than the circumference of the Earth (just over 40,000 kilometres).  Harry’s track is the longest recorded for a tiger shark, and probably the longest ever published for any shark species.

With tentacles up to three metres long and covered with stinging cells, it’s better not to get too close to the Lion’s Mane jellyfish. It’s body can be 2 metres across, making it one of the largest species of jellyfish.

The tentacles are arranged in eight bunches, with each bunch containing over 100 tentacles. The oldest tentacles are often coloured dark red. They have a very severe sting that can produce blisters, irritation and muscular cramp and may even affect respiratory and heart function. Fragments of tentacles, left on buoy ropes for example, retain their stinging power.