Bull Sharks—Sharing the Seas

Then, in July 1916, everything changed. In just 12 days, there were five shark attacks in New Jersey. Only one victim survived.

These events inspired the famous movie Jaws, which made sharks seem dangerous and scary. After Jaws was released, people became afraid of sharks—especially great white sharks.

But the animal behind the New Jersey attacks might not have been a great white shark. It was possibly a bull shark. Two of the attacks happened in a freshwater creek. Great white sharks can’t survive in freshwater—but bull sharks can.

Thanks to a brilliant Creator, bull sharks have the special features they need to survive in a fallen world.

Survival Strategy

To live in aquatic habitats, sharks must perfectly balance water and electrolytes (eh-LEK-truh-lites, which are essential minerals) in their bodies. This is called osmoregulation (ahz-mo-reg-yoo-LAY-shun). That is very difficult for most sharks to do in freshwater, because they must get rid of excess water while keeping electrolytes in their systems.

However, God designed bull sharks to overcome this challenge. Their gills, livers, and kidneys come to the rescue by keeping extra electrolytes.

To reproduce, bull sharks usually breed in saltwater, but the females give live birth in freshwater. The pups (baby sharks) spend their first few years in freshwater, which gives them a higher chance of survival. They don’t have to worry about other sharks hunting them or competing with them for food.

Because bull sharks can easily move back and forth between saltwater and freshwater, they’re more likely than many other shark species to encounter humans.

Friend or Foe?

Because bull sharks tend to be aggressive, many experts consider them to be the most dangerous shark species in the world. Bull sharks have the third highest number of recorded shark attacks behind great white sharks and tiger sharks. Why would a loving God design such a creature?

God created aquatic creatures like sharks on day five of creation week (Genesis 1:20–23). That was before sin and death had entered the world. God said everything he made was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). It would not be a very good world if animals were killing each other and attacking humans. That means that before the fall, people and animals were all vegetarians (Genesis 1:29–30).

When Adam and Eve sinned, pain and death entered the world. Now, animals hunt and eat each other. Bull sharks are fast, fierce hunters, eating almost anything—fish, turtles, dolphins, and even other sharks. But don’t worry! Humans aren’t on the bull shark’s menu.

Shark attacks are actually extremely rare. They usually only happen when sharks are provoked or when they are hunting for food and accidentally bump into humans. Fewer than 20 people die by shark attacks per year. Still, it’s good to have a healthy respect for predators. Give sharks their space by not swimming at dawn and dusk when sharks are most active. You should also avoid murky waters and never swim alone.

Sharks Need Saving

Sadly, bull sharks have more reason to fear people than people have to fear bull sharks. In 2021, sharks killed 11 humans, but humans killed 100 million sharks. Bull sharks are widely hunted for their fins, hide, and oils. In some countries, shark fins are considered a delicacy as the key ingredient for shark fin soup.

Creation Fact

The bonnethead shark sometimes eats seagrass. The idea of sharks being vegetarians before the fall isn’t a crazy idea after all!

Unfortunately, shark numbers are shrinking because they are being killed off faster than they can reproduce.

Sharks are important for keeping their environments healthy. They maintain balance in their habitats by eating weak and sick animals and keeping populations of prey animals under control. Entire ecosystems could collapse if sharks disappear.

God gave us the responsibility for taking care of what he made—including bull sharks. Psalm 8:6–8 says, “You have given him [mankind] dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet . . . the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.” It’s our job to respect these animals as God’s special creations and protect them so that they can fulfill their important role in the oceans of our fallen world. And we can look forward to a time when Jesus will come back to restore creation. Animals won’t be dangerous anymore.

Bull sharks might seem scary, but instead of fearing them, we should be amazed by them. After all, the waters aren’t “shark-infested”—God perfectly designed sharks to live there!