Shark Week is officially over. I've said all I have to say about the mockumentary and Discovery's defense of it, but to properly wrap up the annual festivities, I wanted to link to all of the wonderful Cooler than #SharkWeek posts that have been shared since Wednesday. Have a sharky weekend!
I wasn't the only one chatting about Shark Week: David Shiffman had a great CNN interview, Brian Switek explains that this is just a small part of a larger problem, and Alex Warneke explains why Discovery's scientific integrity matters so much.
#WhaleSharks are real, live right now and get as big as #megalodon. Plus they're harmless & have spots. Reality is cooler than #sharkweek — Dr. Alistair Dove (@para_sight) August 7, 2013
(Though those big sharks have itty bitty brains, by the way. But how do you feed them?) Also, Megalodon was definitely not the coolest ancient shark.
Want to know what a real shark biologist does in an average day? I chatted with Mark to find out. Why our obsession with size? Most sharks are wee little things. I know it seems scary, but there's no need to fear: you're not going to get attacked by a shark. Did you know great whites eat more than seals? The National Resources Defense Council gets in on the Cooler than #SharkWeek action with a conversation with shark scientist Brad Sewell, and in the same vein, more cool shark scientists from Texas A & M. People have different personalities, but are all sharks the same? One mom, many dads. Shark reproduction is complicated. No one likes to be alone—even sharks make friends and have social networks. Can we design a shark-proof suit? Good question. Oh, and the mystery of the subway shark has been solved.
