THE SHARK'S TEETH 



fish a capacity as great as it might seem. Although 

 it has its part in securing nourishment, the part it 

 actually plays is not up to its apparent promise. This 

 we found when we came to examine the contents of 

 our shark's stomach. 



The shark was disembowelled and cleaned without 

 delay, and in its stomach, still intact and together with 

 several partially digested mackerel, we discovered a 

 tunny measuring nearly a yard in length. In spite of its 

 dimensions and shape, this tunny had been swallowed 

 whole; the teeth did not chew it, or cut it into 

 pieces; they did not even touch it; there was not a 

 mark upon its skin. It was just a single mouthful. 

 The principal task of the shark when feeding is not 

 to masticate its prey, but to snap it up directly and 

 swallow it whole. The teeth are only an aid; they 

 serve to hold a slippery, wriggling victim which is 

 trying to escape, occasionally perhaps to cut a mouthful 

 from a body that is too large to swallow entire. 



Men engaged in pearl and sponge fisheries know 

 this well. Often, as they go about their daily work, 

 they have to protect themselves against the attacks of 

 the great sharks. Experience has shown them that 

 their enemy seeks rather to swallow them whole than 

 to bite them. This they try to avoid, first, by getting 

 above him and thus compelling him to turn over. 

 This movement allows them a first respite, because 

 his mouth is under his head. Then, if armed with 

 a knife, they try, by swimming, to keep behind the 

 mouth and so avoid being seized; then, by clutching 

 a fin, to get near the belly and stab the creature in 

 the heart. But such adventures seldom happen. The 

 sharks, especially those of medium size, do not often 

 trouble about human beings, because they are too 

 large to be swallowed at a single gulp. In tropical 

 countries we are not a little surprised to see natives 

 bathing and diving in shark-infested waters, without 

 being disturbed by their dangerous neighbours. 



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