The Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas) is clearly one of the deadliest of the River Monsters because it is a highly aggressive shark that can travel into freshwater. Besides the Tarpon and Papuan Black Bass, most other River Monsters are confined to either fresh or salt water. The Bull Shark can grow to around 1000 pounds. It is also legendary for its ferocity. Its name, in fact, comes from its aggressive nature as well as the fact that it is known to ram prey before killing them. It is also statistically the deadliest shark in the world for humans. Several Bull Shark attacks around New Jersey actually inspired the movie "Jaws", two of them occuring in freshwater. The Bull shark appeared in seasons 1, 2, 4, 6, and shortly in Season 8 of River Monsters. A small specimen is also caught in the episode Volcanic Island Terror.
Freshwater Adaptations[]
Because of its ability to regulate salinity levels within its body, it is known to go much farther up river mouths than other sharks. It is said by some that for a shark to spend a day in freshwater is like a human spending a day in space without a suit, however, these problems are bypassed by the Bull Shark.
It is known to travel as far into the Amazon as the city of Manaus, and as far up the Mississippi as Illinois, thousands of miles into freshwater.
River Monsters[]
Freshwater Shark[]
In the episode "Freshwater Shark", Jeremy Wade searched for a Bull Shark in Australian fresh water. He did catch a medium-sized specimen, however, he returned in Season 2 with a team of experts to catch a monster.
Hidden Predator[]
In the Breede River in South Africa, a team of scientists had landed a 13-foot 1000-pound female shark in the river, and it set the world record as the largest Bull Shark ever caught. It was released back into the river, causing controversy with many of the locals.
Later, in the episode "Hidden Predator", the experts turned to Jeremy Wade to catch them another enormous specimen that would hopefully add a new level of understanding. After hooking a fish that later got away, Jeremy was able to land a 500-pound male shark. This find was extraordinary because the hypothesis as to why the female shark had been caught was that it was there to deliver its pups in the safety of a river. This is true in most cases, however, male Bull Sharks do not typically enter freshwater.
A new hypothesis arose. The Bull Shark caught by Jeremy was found to stalk boats, and apparently these creatures survive largely on fish hooked by fishermen. What is even more surprising, is that no Breede river shark has ever attacked a human. This suggests to some that there is a symbiotic relationship, and the animals will not attack humans, however, they will depend on humans for food.
Jeremy was trying to hook an even larger shark, however, the previously hooked shark was stalking his boat, and the team of scientists tried their best to thwart its attempts. Jeremy did not believe it was wise to hook the same individual twice. Finally, they managed to evade it, and hook another, even larger specimen. After a fight that took nearly three hours, Jeremy finally successfully brought the shark in. Weighing over 500 pounds, it was even larger than the previous shark, and the largest fish caught by Jeremy until the capture of the Sixgill Shark in the Season 9 premiere.
It was also a male, which added even more weight to the hypothesis that these animals are in fact conscientiously leaving humans out of their diet in exchange for food.
American Killers[]
The Bull Shark appeared again in Seasons 4 where Jeremy searched for more specimens in Florida. He was able to catch a smaller specimen, as well as accidentally a Goliath Grouper.
Unknown Waters[]
Amazon River Shark[]
The Bull Shark is the subject of the 3rd episode of the first season of Unknown Waters.
Other Appearances[]
The Bull Shark appears multiple times throughout the rest of the series, in every season except Season 7. Jeremy puts Bull sharks on his suspect list in "Legend of Loch Ness" in Season 5, although it is quickly dismissed. In Season 6, the Bull Shark is a suspect for the Sobral Santos Disaster in the episode "Amazon Apocalypse". In Season 8, the Bull shark is a temporary suspect in "Death Down Under", although, it is quickly dismissed. In Season 9, a Bull Shark is caught in the episode "Volcanic Island Terror", although it is not a suspect for the mysterious attacks.
Description[]
The largest Bull sharks can reach 13 feet in length and 1000 pounds in weight, making some consider them to be one of the world's largest freshwater fish. Still, others disagree with this title because they do not live entirely in fresh water. Bull Sharks belong to the genus Carcharhinidae (Requiem sharks).
