Ever head that a shark can live out of water? It might put you into a dilemma when you always knew that the shark could live only under the water.
Surprisingly, the answer is yes; sharks can live out of the water, but not so long. Then, how long can a shark live out of water? As the shark is a fish, there’s also a limitation of sharks living out of water. Undoubtedly, the fish cannot breathe on land for long.
Now let’s come to the point. The shark’s lifespan ranges from a few minutes to several hours (Up to 12 hours) out of water. It actually depends on a shark’s type and size; how long can sharks breathe out of water.
Keep reading on to learn the deepest secret regarding the shark from the ocean.
How Long Can A Shark Live Out of Water?
“How long can a shark live out of water” if you’re thinking of this, then let us enlighten you; mostly large sharks cannot live on water for more than 12 hours.
The large shark species include the great whale shark, tiger shark, megamouth shark, Greenland shark, etc.
Now, why can sharks not live on land for long? Let’s discover the secret of the shark’s not breathing in the land for long.
Before that, let’s first learn how the land-living animal lives. The land-living animal lives absorbing the oxygen through their lungs.
Rarely, the shark uses the lungs like land-living animals, although they have both the gills and lungs. Instead, the shark uses gills that are compatible with absorbing the oxygen only from the water.
So, keeping the shark on the land for too long might cause their death.
How Long Can Great White Shark Survive in Fresh Water?
When the shark cannot live without water, a thought might come to your mind, can the shark survive in freshwater? It’s a common thought to the people who want to fulfill their unique hobby of keeping sharks as pet fish.
Unfortunately, the answer is no; whether it’s great white sharks or dwarf lantern sharks (the smallest shark), they cannot live in the fresh or shallow water for long.
That’s because sharks are salt water animals. If you bring them to the freshwater from saltwater, they’ll die immediately or after a few hours.
Still, the bull sharks, a limited shark species, can live in the freshwater for several years (Up to 4 years). But a place must have become spacious for its being worthy of living.
Actually, bull sharks are aggressive like the great white shark and swim like them. Exceptionally, the bull shark uses the special grill function, making them both freshwater and saltwater animals.
What Temperature Do Great White Sharks Like?
The sharks are well-adapted to live in the deeper water of the ocean, where there’s cold water. Usually, the deepest ocean with 12 to 24-degree Celsius temperature is the most favorite place of the white shark.
When the ocean water heats up, the shark leaves their current place and moves to the coldest side.
Furthermore, there’s another reason for the shark living in the deepest ocean. There’s abundant food in the middle of the ocean compared to the coastal water. Hunting the food from the middle of the sea is another reason for the sharks living there.
How Do Epaulette Shark Walks on The Land?
The Epaulette shark exposes their prototype legs to crawls on the rockpools.
Surprisingly, the Epaulette sharks can walk on land, whereas the other sharks hardly can breathe. Although the walking speed is still slow, they can walk on tidal pools separating from the ocean.
Frankly speaking, the epaulette shark has prototype legs that allow them to walk on rock and tidal pools. Anyway, above the ocean, the epaulette shark can live almost 3 hours on the ground.
What Happens If You Pull A Shark Backwards?
Like other facts, a crucial fact about the sharks is, they never can swim backward. Swimming backward inserts the water current into the shark’s gill which interrupts their breathing.
So, if you pull a shark’s tail backward, it’ll cause disorder to the shark’s internal system. Consequently, the shark will die. Honestly, this is the fisherman’s system for killing the huge creature, the shark.
Do Sharks Drown If They Stop Swimming?
The sharks won’t die soon when they stop swimming. But, they’ll get deprived of oxygen when they stop swimming; indeed, oxygen is compulsory for each animal, including sharks, for living.
The sharks keep their mouths open when swimming so that they can breathe. But when they stop swimming, their mouth will no longer remain open. As a consequence, the shark cannot take the oxygen.
Without swimming, the sharks also cannot float longer, and soon, they’ll dive under the deepest ocean.
Did Sharks Ever Have Legs?
Usually, the sharks don’t have legs except for some species like the Epaulette shark. The Epaulette shark has the prototype legs to crawl on dry land.
Although the sharks haven’t legs, they still walk pretty well under the deepest ocean.
The Sum Up!
Sharks cannot live on the consistent temperature of the air due to their internal gill system instead of the lung. But, they don’t die quickly when you bring them to the land. After coming to the land, the shark uses their lungs to live for some time.
So, how long can a shark live out of water? Well, it is no longer than only a few hours when they have huge lungs. The lifespan for living on the ground is lesser for the shark with smaller lungs.
