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HALF OF ALL SHARK SPECIES ARE NOW LISTED as endangered or critically endangered, despite their role in ocean ecosystems. Steve shares his fascination with these misunderstood creatures – and how social media could be their unlikely saviour.
“They’ve lived through all the major extinction events, but they could disappear within this one”
BBC WILDLIFE: WHAT DO YOU FIND SO fascinating about sharks?
Steve Backshall: We have an inherent fascination for apex predators – for the top-of-the-line predator that is at the evolutionary high-water mark, and sharks appear to be that.
They have super senses and can detect the movement of fish – that may already be long gone – from the wake they leave behind. They have the ability to sense the weak electrical fields given off by the moving muscles of their prey. They have an extraordinary olfactory sense – the ability to perceive minute amounts of a substance many, many times diluted in water. They are incredibly beautiful, very sleek and streamlined, but also incredibly complex.
And their presence encompasses the most important and interesting span of time on our planet – at least 400 million years, possibly